(492d) Kinetics and Mechanisms of Lignin Model Compound Reactions over a Hydrotalcite-Derived Copper Catalyst
AIChE Annual Meeting
2014
2014 AIChE Annual Meeting
Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Division
Catalytic Processing of Fossil and Biorenewable Feedstocks: Fuels II
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 - 1:30pm to 1:50pm
The reactivity of molecular compounds relevant to the hydrogenolysis of lignin as a renewable source of aromatics was explored in a combined experimental-computational approach. X-ray absorption spectroscopy shows that highly dispersed copper ions are reduced by the solvent, methanol, in the early stages of the reaction. The resulting copper nanoparticles catalyze methanol reforming to generate H2 at ca. 250 °C. The selectivity towards the desired C-O hydrogenolysis reaction was explored for a variety of model compounds, including anisole and dihydrobenzofuran. DFT calculations suggest that the barrier is lowest for C-O cleavage, but the oxide support may play a role in directing substrate adsorption and therefore reactivity. This was confirmed experimentally by observing reaction products in a flow reactor.