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Influence of Sulfuric Acid on the Performance of Ruthenium‐based Catalysts in the Liquid‐Phase Hydrogenation of Levulinic Acid to γ‐Valerolactone
Author(s) -
Ftouni Jamal,
Genuino Homer C.,
MuñozMurillo Ara,
Bruijnincx Pieter C. A.,
Weckhuysen Bert M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201700768
Subject(s) - levulinic acid , catalysis , sulfuric acid , chemistry , inorganic chemistry , adsorption , sulfur , bimetallic strip , impurity , ruthenium , solvent , carbon fibers , organic chemistry , materials science , composite number , composite material
The presence of biogenic or process‐derived impurities poses a major problem on the efficient catalytic hydrogenation of biomass‐derived levulinic acid to γ‐valerolactone; hence, studies on their influence on catalyst stability are now required. Herein, the influence of sulfuric acid as feed impurity on the performance of Ru‐based heterogeneous catalysts, including Ru/ZrO 2 and mono‐ and bimetallic Ru‐on‐carbon catalysts in dioxane as solvent, was investigated. The carbon‐supported Ru catalysts proved to be very sensitive to minor amounts of sulfuric acid. In stark contrast, Ru/ZrO 2 showed a remarkable stability in the presence of the same impurity, which is attributed to the sulfate‐ion adsorption capacity of the support. Preferential sulfate adsorption onto the surface of ZrO 2 effectively protects the Ru active phase from deactivation by sulfur poisoning. A simple catalyst regeneration strategy was effective in removing adsorbed impurities, allowing efficient catalyst recycling.