Study of catalytic hydrodeoxygenation performance for the Ni/KIT-6 catalysts

Ni/KIT-6 catalysts loaded with different amounts of metallic Ni were prepared by impregnation method. The prepared catalysts and their precursors were investigated through wide- and low-angle XRD, TEM, BET, H2-TPR, and H2-TPD analyzes. The catalytic hydrodeoxygenation performance of the catalysts was evaluated using ethyl acetate as a model bio oil compound. Results indicate that the catalytic hydrodeoxygenation performance of the prepared catalysts was directly related to hydrogen storage properties, hydrogen desorption properties, dispersion of the active component Ni, and so on. The ethyl acetate conversion and ethane selectivity of 25 wt% Ni/KIT-6 catalyst were 100 and 96.8%, respectively, at 300 °C, which shows the best performance. The hydrodeoxygenation activity of ethyl acetate was higher than that of methyl acetate and isopropyl acetate because of the effect of molecular polarity and size. And, this reaction is a structure sensitive reaction. Keywords: Mesoporous Ni-based catalyst, Active Ni species, Pore structure, Hydrodeoxygenation, Ethyl acetat