Synergistic effects of surface acidity and alkalinity of Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts in fats and oils hydrodeoxygenation product distribution

The deep utilization of green and renewable chemicals has laid the foundation for sustainable development. Recombining and modifying the long carbon chain structure and oxygen-containing functional groups in fats and oils can prepare important chemical products, such as high-quality second-generation biodiesel and oxygen-containing compounds (fatty alcohols, fatty acids, and esters). To improve the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) performances of Ni-based catalysts, the effect of surface composition was studied in detail. Acid-base centers of Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts were finely regulated by adding metal oxides (ZrO2, CeO2, La2O3, and MgO). It was found that enhancing the basicity of the studied catalyst was conducive to the methyl laurate conversion, but was not conducive to the HDO of oxygen-containing intermediates. In other words, the strong basicity would promote the condensation reaction of oxygen-containing intermediates over Ni-based catalyst. Among the studied catalysts, Ni/La2O3/γ-Al2O3 catalyst showed the highest methyl laurate conversion (73%) and oxygen-containing product selectivity (64%) at 400 °C, LHSV = 1.5 h−1, H2/oil = 500 Nm3/m3, and PH2 = 2.0 MPa over the Ni/La2O3/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. The acidity was favorable to improve the conversion of oils and the yield of alkane products, and the basicity was favorable to obtain oxygen-containing compounds over the corresponding catalysts.