Ni − Promoted Cu/ZSM-5 for selective hydrodeoxygenation of furfural to produce 2 − Methylfuran

Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of furfural (FUR) to produce 2 − methylfuran (2 − MeF) is a green way to produce hydrocarbons with fuel − like properties. In this work, bimetallic Ni − Cu alloys supported on ZSM − 5 zeolite catalysts were prepared by wetness impregnation and used for HDO of FUR to produce 2 − MeF. Cu/ZSM − 5 catalyst favoured the adsorption of CO bonding in FUR through a tilted adsorption orientation, avoiding the saturation of furan ring. Moderate addition of Ni in Cu/ZSM-5 accelerated the conversion rate with enhanced adsorption of the FUR and H2, leading to high selectivity of 2 − MeF in the product through sequenced hydrogenation and deoxygenation procedures. Moreover, zeolite surface acid benefited the scission of CO bonding in the intermediate furfuryl alcohol (FOL), further promoting the yield of 2 − MeF. The optimized 2Ni − 6Cu/CZ catalyst (with 2 wt% Ni and 6 wt% Cu on ZSM − 5) gave 2 − MeF yield of 78.8 wt% at 220 °C after 30 min reaction. With further increased Ni concentrations, the hydrogenation of furan ring was accelerated with tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFOL) as the main product.