Stable reduced Ni catalysts for xylose hydrogenation in aqueous medium

Recent Advances in C5 and C6 Sugar Alcohol Synthesis by Hydrogenation of Monosaccharides and Cellulose Hydrolytic Hydrogenation over Non-Noble Metal Catalysts

A new reality of the 21st century is the transition to a new type of economy and energy concepts characterized by the replacement of existing petrochemical routes to a bio-based circular economy. The needs for new strategies in obtaining basic products from bio-based resources with minimum CO₂ traces has become mandatory. In this review, recent trends in the conversion of biomass-derived molecules, such as simple monomeric sugars and cellulose, to industrially important C₅ and C₆ sugar alcohols on heterogeneous catalysts based on non-noble metals are discussed focusing on the influence of catalyst structures and reaction conditions used on the substrate conversion and product selectivity. The challenges and prominent ideas are suggested for the further development of catalytic hydrogenation of naturally abundant carbohydrates to value-added chemicals on non-noble metal catalysts.

Unexpected reactivity related to support effects during xylose hydrogenation over ruthenium catalysts

Xylose is a major component of hemicelluloses. In this paper, its hydrogenation to xylitol in aqueous medium was investigated with two Ru/TiO₂ catalysts prepared with two commercial TiO₂ supports. A strong impact of the support on catalytic performance was evidenced. Ru/TiO₂-R led to fast and selective conversion of xylose (100% conversion in 2 h at 120 °C with 99% selectivity) whereas Ru/TiO₂-A gave a slower and much less selective transformation (58% conversion in 4 h at 120 °C with 17% selectivity) with the formation of several by-products. Detailed characterization of the catalysts with ICP, XRD, FTIR, TEM, H₂ chemisorption, N₂ porosimetry, TPR and acid-base titration was performed to elucidate the role of each support. TiO₂-R has a small specific surface area with large ruthenium nanoparticles in weak interaction with the TiO₂ support and no acidity, whereas TiO₂-A is a mesoporous material with a large specific surface area that is mildly acidic, and bears small ruthenium particles in strong interaction with the TiO₂ support. The former was very active and selective for xylose hydrogenation to xylitol whereas the latter was less active and poorly selective. Moreover, careful analysis of the reaction products also revealed that anatase TiO₂ can catalyze undesired side-reactions such as xylose isomerisation to various pentoses, and therefore the corresponding unexpected polyols (arabitol, ribitol) were produced during xylose conversion by hydrogenation. In a first kinetic approach, a simplified kinetic model was built to compare quantitatively intrinsic reaction rates of both catalysts. The kinetic constant for hydrogenation was 20 times higher for Ru/TiO₂-R at 120 °C.

Biological and Pharmacological Potential of Xylitol: A Molecular Insight of Unique Metabolism

Xylitol is a white crystalline, amorphous sugar alcohol and low-calorie sweetener. Xylitol prevents demineralization of teeth and bones, otitis media infection, respiratory tract infections, inflammation and cancer progression. NADPH generated in xylitol metabolism aid in the treatment of glucose-6-phosphate deficiency-associated hemolytic anemia. Moreover, it has a negligible effect on blood glucose and plasma insulin levels due to its unique metabolism. Its diverse applications in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food and polymer industries fueled its market growth and made it one of the top 12 bio-products. Recently, xylitol has also been used as a drug carrier due to its high permeability and non-toxic nature. However, it become a challenge to fulfil the rapidly increasing market demand of xylitol. Xylitol is present in fruit and vegetables, but at very low concentrations, which is not adequate to satisfy the consumer demand. With the passage of time, other methods including chemical catalysis, microbial and enzymatic biotransformation, have also been developed for its large-scale production. Nevertheless, large scale production still suffers from high cost of production. In this review, we summarize some alternative approaches and recent advancements that significantly improve the yield and lower the cost of production.

Effect of Metal Content on Ethanol Decomposition over Ni-Co Catalysts Supported on La-Ce Oxides

The search for catalysts with features that can improve coke resistance and decrease byproduct formation is a current goal in H₂ production from renewable sources. In this work, the effect of the presence of Ni nanoparticles over Co/La-Ce oxides on the ethanol decomposition reaction was studied. Catalysts were synthetized using as precursor a La_0.8Ce_0.2Ni_xCo_1-xO₃ perovskite-type material to ensure a low segregation of phases and a high dispersion of metals. After reduction at 873 K, the perovskite structure was destroyed, and metal Co-Ni particles were supported over a lanthanum-cerium oxide. The materials were characterized by different techniques before and after reaction. Solids exhibited metal particle sizes between 5 and 15 nm demonstrating the advantages of the preparation method to obtain Ni-Co alloys. Although the results of adsorption of ethanol followed by diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transformed spectroscopy (DRIFTS) showed acetate species strongly adsorbed on the catalyst's surface, the material (Ni_0.7Co_0.3/La_0.8Ce_0.2) with the lowest particle size was the most stable system leading to the lowest amount of carbon deposits during ethanol decomposition. This catalyst showed the better performance, with a higher ethanol conversion (98.4%) and hydrogen selectivity (75%). All catalysts exhibited carbonaceous deposits, which were an ordered and disordered carbon phase mixture.

Efficient Hydrogenation of Xylose and Hemicellulosic Hydrolysate to Xylitol over Ni-Re Bimetallic Nanoparticle Catalyst

A disadvantage of the commercial Raney Ni is that the Ni active sites are prone to leaching and deactivation in the hydrogenation of xylose to xylitol. To explore a more stable and robust catalyst, activated carbon (AC) supported Ni-Re bimetallic catalysts (Ni-Re/AC) were synthesized and used to hydrogenate xylose and hemicellulosic hydrolysate into xylitol under mild reaction conditions. In contrast to the monometallic Ni/AC catalyst, bimetallic Ni-Re/AC exhibited better catalytic performances in the hydrogenation of xylose to xylitol. A high xylitol yield up to 98% was achieved over Ni-Re/AC (nNi:nRe = 1:1) at 140 °C for 1 h. In addition, these bimetallic catalysts also had superior hydrogenation performance in the conversion of the hydrolysate derived from the hydrolysis reaction of the hemicellulose of Camellia oleifera shell. The characterization results showed that the addition of Re led to the formation of Ni-Re alloy and improved the dispersion of Ni active sites. The recycled experimental results revealed that the monometallic Ni and the bimetallic Ni-Re catalysts tended to deactivate, but the introduction of Re was able to remarkably improve the catalyst's stability and reduce the Ni leaching during the hydrogenation reaction.

Magnetic Pt single and double core-shell structures for the catalytic selective hydrogenation of cinnmaladehyde

This study reports the catalytic preparation, characterization, and evaluation of nanoscale core-shell structures with a γ-Fe2O3 core covered by a SiO2 monoshell or by a SiO2@TiO2 multishell as a support for Pt nanoparticles (NPs) to synthesize active and operationally stable catalysts for selective liquid-phase cinnamaldehyde hydrogenation. The structures were designed with a magnetic core so they could be easily recovered from the catalytic bed by simple magnetization and with a SiO2 monoshell or a SiO2@TiO2 multishell to protect the magnetic core. At the same time, this study details the effect of the shell on the catalytic performance. Moreover, the effect of particle size on the selective production of cinnamyl alcohol was studied by preparing two families of catalysts with metal loadings of 1 wt% and 5 wt% Pt with respect to the core-shell. The particle size effect enabled the Fe2O3@SiO2-5%Pt system, with an average particle size of 5.6 nm, to reach 100 % conversion of cinnamaldehyde at 300 min of reaction, producing cinnamyl alcohol with 90 % selectivity; this result differed greatly from that of the Fe2O3@SiO2-1%Pt (dPt = 3.5 nm) system, which reached a maximum conversion at 600 min with 49 % selectivity for the product of interest. However, the Fe2O3@SiO2@TiO2-x%Pt systems showed lower levels of conversion and selectivity compared to those of the Fe2O3@SiO2-x%Pt catalysts, which is attributed to the fact that average metal particle sizes below 5.0 nm were obtained in both cases. After reduction in H2 at 773 K, the Fe2O3@SiO2@TiO2-1%Pt catalyst showed deactivation, reaching 10 % conversion at 600 min of reaction and 60 % selectivity for the product of interest. However, the reduced Fe2O3@SiO2@TiO2-5%Pt system showed 98 % conversion with 95 % selectivity for cinnamyl alcohol at 24 h of operation; the increase in selectivity is attributed to the combined effects of the increase in average particle size (~7.5 nm) and the presence of strong metal-support interaction – SMSI – effects after reduction. Finally, the most selective systems were tested for operational stability, where the Fe2O3@SiO2@-5%Pt catalyst could be reused in three consecutive operating cycles while maintaining its activity and selectivity for cinnamyl alcohol – unlike the Fe2O3@SiO2@TiO2-5%Pt reduced system, which was deactivated after the third reaction cycle due to active phase leaching.

Catalytic Processes from Biomass-Derived Hexoses and Pentoses: A Recent Literature Overview

Biomass is a plentiful renewable source of energy, food, feed and chemicals. It fixes about 1–2% of the solar energy received by the Earth through photosynthesis in both terrestrial and aquatic plants like macro- and microalgae. As fossil resources deplete, biomass appears a good complement and eventually a good substitute feedstock, but still needs the development of relatively new catalytic processes. For this purpose, catalytic transformations, whether alone or combined with thermal ones and separation operations, have been under study in recent years. Catalytic biorefineries are based on dehydration-hydrations, hydrogenations, oxidations, epimerizations, isomerizations, aldol condensations and other reactions to obtain a plethora of chemicals, including alcohols, ketones, furans and acids, as well as materials such as polycarbonates. Nevertheless, there is still a need for higher selectivity, stability, and regenerability of catalysts and of process intensification by a wise combination of operations, either in-series or combined (one-pot), to reach economic feasibility. Here we present a literature survey of the latest developments for obtaining value-added products using hexoses and pentoses derived from lignocellulosic material, as well as algae as a source of carbohydrates for subsequent transformations.