Heterogeneous Catalysis for the Upgrading of Biomass Derived Chemicals Via Hydrodeoxygenation Elizabeth Barrow
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University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations Spring 2019 Heterogeneous Catalysis for the Upgrading of Biomass Derived Chemicals via Hydrodeoxygenation Elizabeth Barrow Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Chemical Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Barrow, E.(2019). Heterogeneous Catalysis for the Upgrading of Biomass Derived Chemicals via Hydrodeoxygenation. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5294 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HETEROGENEOUS CATALYSIS FOR THE UPGRADING OF BIOMASS DERIVED CHEMICALS VIA HYDRODEOXYGENATION by Elizabeth Barrow Bachelor of Science Charleston Southern University, 1998 Master of Science University of Miami, 2000 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering College of Engineering and Computing University of South Carolina 2019 Accepted by: Jochen Lauterbach, Major Professor Andreas Heyden, Committee Member John Regalbuto, Committee Member Donna Chen, Committee Member John Weidner, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Elizabeth Barrow, 2019 All Rights Reserved. ii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my boys, Shedrick and William. May they see the importance of education, the benefit of hard work, and the strength that comes from a family’s love. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am extremely grateful to my PhD advisor Jochen Lauterbach. He accepted me into his research group believing that I had potential. Considering that this course of study was a completely new field to me, it could not have been an easy task for him to give me the time and resources to learn to be an engineer. Without his continued patience, I would not have been able to proceed through this transition to engineering. Practically adopting me for 7 months, Kiyotaka Asakura welcomed me into his group for my internship at Hokkaido University. I am grateful to him and his group for not only teaching me the delicate ways of surface science but also making certain that my family adapted to life in Japan. He, Miwa-san, and Hamigami-san, constantly stood in the gap for my boys. They even made it possible for my older child to attend snow camp! I would also like to thank members of SAGE, both past and present. Entering the laboratory with no research experience meant that I had a great amount to learn. The members of SAGE that were there when I started guided me in learning the basic skills of chemical hygiene and the use of the analytical equipment. They began the work of helping me to think and present as an engineer. The current SAGE members are also important to me. New talent brings new ways of thinking, and I have learned vital lessons from each and every one of my group mates. A special thanks is given to my family and friends. Words cannot possibly describe the sacrifices they have made for me or the support they have given. iv ABSTRACT An important step in the upgrading of biomass derived chemicals is the removal of excess oxygen. The works reported here are focused on studying the heterogeneous catalysts that can be utilized for that upgrading through hydrodeoxygenation. This work begins with a discussion of the alkylation of short chain platform chemicals for chain growth and also demonstrates the proof of concept of combining alkylation and hydrodeoxygenation in a single step. Then, because of the promising nature of ReOx- Pd/CeO2 for selective hydrodeoxygenation, a detailed study of ReOx/CeO2 is presented. Finally, a new surface structure interpretation is presented for P/Ni(111) which could be used for understanding Ni2P, a catalyst used for hydrodeoxygenation. First, the production of long-chain hydrocarbons (C8+) from 2-methylfuran(2MF) and butanal in a single step reactive process is demonstrated by utilizing a bi-functional catalyst with both acid and metallic sites. A solid acid, Al-MCM-41, is utilized for the alkylation function and as a support for the transition metal, Pt. The Pt/Al-MCM-41 catalyst showed 96% yield for C8+ hydrocarbons, and the catalytic performance was stable over four reaction cycles of 20 hours each. The oligomerization of 2MF is also studied over solid catalysts. An aluminosilicate catalyst with Si/Al=20 is developed that demonstrates 40% conversion of 2MF in a pressurized batch reactor. This produces a mix of carbohydrates with the major components being the 2MF trimer and tetramer. v Both the tetramer and the trimer are known to perform well under hydrodeoxygenation to form C15 and C20 hydrocarbons. Second, to lead towards an explanation of the unique catalytic activity of ReOx- Pd/CeO2 for simultaneous hydrodeoxygenation of vicinal OH groups, the structure of ReOx/CeO2 is compared to the structure of ReOx on other oxides. Though the ReOx surface structure has been well characterized on SiO2, Al2O3, ZrO2 and TiO2 supports, the ReOx surface structure on CeO2 has not been rigorously studied. Several catalytic characterization techniques for structural determination are employed. It has been discovered that the structure of ReOx supported on CeO2 is unlike any previously studied supported ReOx. One of the main differences is that ReOx is chemisorbed on the surface of CeO2 in ambient conditions instead of being hydrolyzed by surface water. Additionally, instead of vaporizing as is commonly reported, it is shown that with high loadings of ReOx, crystalline Re2O7 is formed and remains on the surface even after o calcination at 500 C. When ReOx is supported on an oxide, crystalline Re2O7 has never before been reported. It is shown that with the lowest loadings studied, 0.5wt%Re, Re has a +VII oxidation state, and ReOx is present with both tetrahedral and octahedral 18 coordination. Using an O2 isotope exchange, it is shown that the tetrahedrally coordinated portion of ReOx/CeO2 has a single terminal oxygen. Upon reduction with H2, the octahedrally coordinated portion of ReOx reduces at a lower temperature than the tetrahedrally coordinated portion. Lastly, a surface science study using LEED interpretation of phosphorous dosed on a Ni(111) single crystal is presented. A phase diagram of the surface P adsorbed on Ni(111) is developed showing distinct overlayer structures based on loading and vi annealing temperature. At low coverage, amorphous P was observed. At annealing temperatures below 400oC and coverages above 0.1 ML, a √7ˣ√7R19.1 structure was observed. Above 400oC, another complex structure was created. These structures seemed to correlate with each other and the √7ˣ√7R19.1 structure of P adsorbed on Ni(111) is therefore reinterpreted to have a rectangular unit cell. The new rectangular structure is discussed in relation to the Ni2P local structure. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Abstract ................................................................................................................................v List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xii List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... xvi Chapter 1 Overview ...........................................................................................................1 1.1 Long chain hydrocarbons for transportation fuel .....................................................1 1.2 Selective vicinal hydrodeoxygenation ......................................................................9 1.3 Fundamental studies of supported Rhenia ..............................................................10 Chapter 2 Characterization Techniques and Experimental Setup....................................16 2.1 Catalyst characterization techniques ......................................................................16 2.2 Reactors ..................................................................................................................25 2.3 Product analysis ......................................................................................................41 Chapter 3 Synthesis of Catalysts......................................................................................43 3.1 Precipitation method ...............................................................................................43 3.2 Hydrothermal Synthesis .........................................................................................46 3.3 Wet impregnation ...................................................................................................55 Chapter 4 Long Chain Carbohydrates and Hydrocarbons from Platform Chemicals .....58 4.1 C8+ production from 2-methylfuran and butanal in a single step reactor ..............59 viii 4.2 Consideration of platform chemical processing steps ............................................65 4.3 2-methylfuran as single