Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is considered to be the most promising route to upgrade pyrolysis oil to liquid transportation fuels. The objective of this research was to explore inexpensive supported metal oxides/metal phosphide catalysts for the upgrading of pyrolysis oil into advanced drop-in hydrocarbon liquid fuels by HDO. The first stage of this thesis project investigates a series of molybdenum oxides/phosphide catalysts on different supports that were prepared in-house, such as Al2O3, activated carbon (AC), MgAl2O4 and Mg6Al2(CO3)(OH)16. The HDO activity of these catalysts were investigated using a 100 mL bench-scale reactor operating at 300 °C with an initial hydrogen pressure of 50 bar for 3 h. The catalytic efficiency were compared with a commercially available Ru/C catalyst, and the most active catalyst was selected, i.e., MoP/AC. Two other transition metal phosphides Nickel and Cobalt were also prepared in the same manner using AC support, and their catalytic activities for HDO of pyrolysis oil were compared. The activities of the three catalysts were found to be in the order of NiP/AC> CoP/AC> MoP/AC.

This volume discusses the use of renewable fuels for clean transportation and its applications on internal combustion engines. The contents focus on the key aspects of fuel production processes and its impact on various segments of the transportation sector and for sustainable mobility. Several kinds of fuels are assessed such as biofuels, alcohols, and hydrogen, and their effects on the combustion process are characterized by application. This volume will be of use to those working in academia and industry as well as energy experts and policy makers.

Biorefineries are becoming increasingly important in providing sustainable routes for chemical industry processes. The establishment of bio-economic models, based on biorefineries for the creation of innovative products with high added value, such as biochemicals and bioplastics, allows the development of “green chemistry” methods in synergy with traditional chemistry. This reduces the heavy dependence on imports and assists the development of economically and environmentally sustainable production processes, that accommodate the huge investments, research and innovation efforts. This book explores the most effective or promising catalytic processes for the conversion of biobased components into high added value products, as platform chemicals and intermediates. With a focus on heterogeneous catalysis, this book is ideal for researchers working in catalysis and in green chemistry.

Valorization of biomass focuses on the transformation of biomass molecules into substitutes for petroleum-based chemicals that can be reused. Valorizing Biomass and Biowaste discusses the chemistry and composition of alternative biomass sources. Later chapters will introduce new markets and discuss efficient, green methods of process intensification and catalysis in order to increase conversion of biomass/biowastes.

A series of metal and metal phosphide catalysts were investigated for the hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol under ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) conditions (350 °C, 0.5 MPa, 12 H2:1 guaiacol, weight hourly space velocity 5 h$-$1). Ligand-capped Ni, Pt, Rh, Ni2P, and Rh2P nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared using solution-phase synthesis techniques and dispersed on a silica support. For the metal phosphide NP-catalysts, a synthetic route that relies on the decomposition of a single molecular precursor was employed. The reactivity of the NP-catalysts was compared to a series of reference materials including Ni/SiO2 and Pt/SiO2 prepared using incipient wetness (IW) impregnation and a commercial (com) Pt/SiO2 catalyst. The NP-Ni/SiO2 catalyst exhibited the largest reduction in the oxygen mol% of the organic phase and outperformed the IW-Ni/SiO2 material. Although it was less active for guaiacol conversion than NP-Ni/SiO2, NP-Rh2P/SiO2 demonstrated the largest production of completely deoxygenated products and the highest selectivity to anisole, benzene, and cyclohexane, suggesting that it is a promising catalyst for deoxygenation of aryl-OH bonds. Finally, the com-Pt/SiO2 and IW-Pt/SiO2 catalyst exhibited the highest normalized rate of guaiacol conversion per m2 and per gram of active phase, respectively, but did not produce any completely deoxygenated products.

In attempts to address the threats of climate change, countries are making efforts to mitigate their emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2). The transition from economies driven by energy and chemicals derived from fossil fuel feedstocks to cleaner alternative fuels and technologies are met with great challenges. In the field of fuel and chemical production specifically, the transformation of carbon monoxide (CO) and CO2, produced through alternative technologies, to value added chemical products require catalysts that are active, selective, and stable. Current research efforts have focused on heavy characterization of catalysts in attempts of establishing a structure-activity correlation to help design and engineer the catalyst of the future. This thesis will focus on the design and characterization of two supported transition metal phosphide (TMP) catalysts, molybdenum phosphide (MoP) and ruthenium phosphide (RuP), and a bimetallic nickel iron (NiFe) catalyst. The first TMP, MoP, was specifically designed and optimized for the higher alcohol synthesis (HAS) reaction from synthesis gas (syngas) (CO/H2). Higher alcohols are defined as an alcohol group containing two or more carbon atoms., like ethanol. Through a systematic design approach, the optimal amount of potassium (K) promoter, P and Mo was determined and synthesized on three different supports: amorphous silica (SiO2), ordered silica (SBA-15), and mesoporous carbon (C). The different combinations led to contrasting catalytic performance with respect the HAS activity. The second TMP, RuP, was designed and optimized for the methanol synthesis (MS) reaction. Ru catalysts are known as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) catalysts as they selectively produce hydrocarbons. This study was able to change the intrinsic catalytic nature of Ru through addition of P. Catalytic results showed that the presence of P transformed the Ru FTS catalyst to a MS catalyst. The NiFe catalyst was tested for the ethane dehydrogenation reaction, in which the essential feedstock chemical ethylene is produced. This catalyst was tested for direct ethane dehydrogenation, in which only ethane is fed to the reactor along with H2 to mitigate coking, and oxidative ethane dehydrogenation, where CO2 is fed to promote the reacting and mitigate coking. The catalysts were also synthesized on two different supports, SiO2 and C, to quantify support effects. The overall goal of these studies was to determine the influence that addition of promoters, like K, phosphides, and secondary metals have on catalytic properties and how we might use that to design catalysts with improved activity, selectivity, and stability.