Hydrodeoxygenation of Acetophenone over Supported Precious Metal Catalysts at Mild Conditions: Process Optimization and Reaction Kinetics

Bio-oils obtained by pyrolysis of lignocellulose feedstocks must be upgraded to reduce the oxygen content, improving their quality as biofuels. Catalytic hydrotreatment has been proposed to reduce the oxygen content of biofuels and meet the standard requirements. Acetophenone is interesting as a model compound for the study of hydrodeoxygenation of pyrolysis bio-oils, which contain aromatic ketones. In this work, acetophenone gas-phase hydrodeoxygenation over precious metal (Pt, Pd, Ru, and Rh) supported catalysts has been studied in a fixed-bed reactor (space time, W/F = 0.75-1.0 kg(cat) s mol(tot)(-1)). The influence of the catalyst active phase and operating conditions (pressure of 0.5-1.5 MPa and temperature of 275-375 degrees C) on the catalyst stability and activity and product distribution was studied. For the optimum pressure (1.0 MPa) and 275 and 375 degrees C, a reaction kinetic model based on the reaction scheme has been proposed and fitted to. the experimental data obtained at different Space velocities (W/F = 0-1.5 kg(cat) s mol(tot)(-1)).