Producing sorbitol from cellulose over Ru-WOX co-doped biochars catalysts

In this work, bifunctional Ru-WOX support on four kinds of biochars using as hydrogenation catalysts to convert cellulose into sorbitol. Four biochar including walnut shell (WS), eucalyptus lignin (EL), pine lignin (PN), and corn cob (CN). The Ru-WOX/biochar catalysts were characterized, and the performance of the catalysts were studied under various conditions. It showed that biochar supports have significantly affected on hydrogenation activity, the sorbitol yields have the order of WS > PN > EL > CN, and found that Ru-WOX/WS achieved 100% cellulose conversion and sorbitol yield as high as 82.6% at 220°C for 4 h, and 3 MPa H2 pressure. The relation of structure-performance showed that biochar from WS facilitated the formation of Ru0 due to its larger specific surface area as well as high ratio of Ru0/Ru4+. The catalytic performance has not changed after using 5 times.