Catalytic hydrogenation of phenol, cresol and guaiacol over physically mixed catalysts of Pd/C and zeolite solid acids

Highly reactive phenolic compounds of pyrolysis bio-oil are recognized as a major cause of the unpleasant properties of this biofuel. Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of phenolic compounds of bio-oil is an efficient technique for improving the quality of bio-oil. Dual function catalysts consisting of metal and acid sites are usually used for transformation of bio-oil/bio-oil model compounds to high value hydrocarbons. Metal and acid sites are generally involved in hydrogenation/hydrodeoxygenation and dehydration/hydrocracking/dealkylation/alkylation reaction mechanisms, respectively. In this work, the product selectivity of hydrogenation of phenol, o-cresol, m-cresol and guaiacol was investigated over combined catalysts of Pd/C with zeolite solid acids of HZSM-5 (Si/Al of 30, 50 and 80) and HY (Si/Al of 30 and 60). Catalytic activity and product distribution in the hydrogenation process were affected by the density and strength of zeolite acid sites. HZSM-5 (30) with only weak acid sites showed lower cyclohexane selectivity compared with HZSM-5 (50) and HZSM-5 (80) which had both weak and strong acid sites. HY (30) and HY (60) containing only strong acid sites favored production of cycloketones.