Promotion Effects of La and Ce on Ni/γ-Al2O3 Catalysts in Hydrotreating of Crude 2-Ethylhexanol

Effect of La on the catalytic performance of mesoporous Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts for dry reforming of methane

Mesoporous Ni/La2O3/γ-Al2O3 catalysts with different La contents (0, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 wt.%) were prepared by the step-by-step impregnation method. The physicochemical properties of the prepared Ni/La2O3/γ-Al2O3 catalysts were characterized by H2-TPR, XRD, BET, O2-TPO, and TG. The effect of La dosage on the catalytic performance of Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalyst for dry reforming of methane was further investigated. The results show that the La content has a significant effect on the reducibility of high-valence Ni species, specific surface area, pore size, and pore volume as well as the catalytic performances. The high-valence Ni species in the NL3.5A catalyst precursor has high reducibility. And the specific surface area, pore size and pore volume of the NL3.5A catalyst are 145.9 m2 g−1, 11.7 nm, and 0.47 cm3 g−1, respectively. The catalytic activity of the series of prepared mesoporous Ni/La2O3/γ-Al2O3 catalysts follows the order: NL3.5A > NL2.5A > NL4.5A > NL1.5A > NL0.5A > NL0A. Namely, the NL3.5A catalyst possesses the best catalytic activity. The CH4 and CO2 conversions of NL3.5A catalyst are 61.6 and 39.1% at 600 °C, respectively. Additionally, it maintains a superior recycle capability for dry reforming of methane reaction because of the high coke resistance compared with the Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalyst.

Effect of Ni Reducibility on Anisole Hydrodeoxygenation Activity in the La-Ni/γ-Al2O3 Catalytic System

The effect of lanthanum addition on the activity of a series of Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts for anisole hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) was evaluated. Catalyst characterization using hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) and UV-visible spectroscopy suggests that lanthanum incorporation results in the formation of larger metallic Ni domains in the catalyst surface, which in turn favour the direct anisole hydrogenation pathway to methoxycyclohexane. Despite the improvements to reducibility that resulted from the incorporation of La, the catalysts displayed lower selectivity towards cyclohexane, independent of total nickel loading. The catalytic activity results were rationalized in terms of a proposed reaction pathway where anisole is initially hydrogenated followed by sequential deoxygenation steps.