Abstrakt

The hydrogenation and decarbonylation of furfuryl aldehyde in the gas phase at 120 – 200 ℃ were studied over the catalysts containing 5 wt% of the active copper or nickel active phase deposited on SiO2, CeO2, and ZrO2. Structural and morphological features of the catalysts were thoroughly investigated by several physicochemical characterization techniques (XRD, BET/BJH method, XRF, SEM/EDS, H2-TPR and NH3-TPD). The influence of the catalysts’ parameters such as different active phase (Cu or Ni) as well as different carriers (SiO2, CeO2, ZrO2) or reaction temperature was examined with respect to furfural conversion and selectivity to the most desirable reaction products: furfuryl alcohol, 2-methylfuran, and furan. The results clearly showed that Cu-systems catalyse mainly the furfuryl aldehyde hydrogenation process, while Ni-catalysts catalyse mainly the process of its decarbonylation. The Cu5.0ZrO2 catalyst exhibited excellent activity which led to 85 % selectivity to furfuryl alcohol at 200 ℃. Among Ni-catalysts, the highest selectivity towards the desired products was shown by Ni5.0CeO2 (SFOL = 52 % at T = 120 ℃; Sfuran = 41 % at T = 160 ℃) and Ni5.0SiO2 (S2-MF = 26 % at T = 160 ℃). Catalytic activity is correlated with the reducibility of the materials.