1 research outputs found
Zeolite Y supported nickel phosphide catalysts for the hydrodenitrogenation of quinoline as a proxy for crude bio-oils from hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae
This work demonstrates the potential of zeolite Y supported nickel phosphide materials as
highly active catalysts for the upgrading of bio-oil as improved alternative to noble metal and
transition metal sulphide systems. Our systematic work studied the effect of using different
counterions (NH4
+
, H+
, K+ and Na+
) and Si/Al ratios (2.56 and 15) of the zeolite Y. It
demonstrates that whilst the zeolite counterion itself has little impact on the catalytic activity
of the bare Y-zeolite, it has a strong influence on the activity of the resulting nickel
phosphide catalysts. This effect is related to the nature of the nickel phases formed during the
synthesis process Zeolites containing K+
and Na+
favour the formation of a mixed
Ni12P5/Ni2P phase, H+ Y produces both Ni2P and metallic Ni, whereas NH4
+ Y produces pure
Ni2P, which can be attributed to the strength of the phosphorus-aluminium interaction and the
metal reduction temperature. Using quinoline as a model for the nitrogen-containing
compounds in bio-oils, it is shown that the hydrodenitrogenation activity increases in the
order Ni2P > Ni0 > Ni12P5. While significant research has been dedicated to the development of bio-oils produced by thermal liquefaction of biomass, surprisingly little work has been
conducted on the subsequent catalytic upgrading of these oils to reduce their heteroatom
content and enable processing in conventional petrochemical refineries. This work provides
important insights for the design and deployment of novel active transition metal catalysts to
enable the incorporation of bio-oils into refineries