Enhanced hydrogenolysis of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin over in situ prepared RuNi bimetallic catalyst

Enzymatic hydrolysis lignin is a kind of byproduct from the biorefinery process, and hydrogenolysis is a promising approach to valorize the lignin waste. This work proposed an efficient hydrogenolysis of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin over in situ prepared RuNi/C bimetallic catalyst. RuNi/C catalyst exhibited a much higher catalytic activity than Ru/C catalyst with the addition of Ni species. A series of characterizations were carried out to reveal the synergistic effect of the bimetallic catalyst. The results indicated that the interaction between Ru and Ni formed an electron transfer from Ru to Ni and resulted in intensified hydrogen adsorption, which was the crucial factor for the enhanced hydrogenolysis performance. The reaction condition of lignin hydrogenolysis was optimized, and 20.4 wt% monomer product yield was achieved at the temperature of 280 °C. This catalytic system is easy to realize and promising to be employed in the field of lignin utilization.