Creating technological advancements that will enable the efficient and economical production of chemicals and fuels from resources more sustainable than fossil fuels is a critical task for scientists and engineers. One attractive alternative resource is lignocellulosic biomass, but the development of highly active and selective heterogeneous catalysts is needed. We report the synthesis of cerium-containing, multifunctional zeolite catalysts for the catalytic fast pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass.  This catalyst shows a shift in selectivity from typical HZSM-5 products (benzene, toluene, and xylenes) to valuable oxygenated chemicals (furans, ketones, aldehydes).  With the incorporation of cerium into the catalyst, aromatization is suppressed while ketonization and decarbonylation reaction pathways are enhanced. It was found that the method of cerium addition greatly affects the properties of the catalyst, as cerium addition by incipient wetness and ion exchange did not significantly alter the behavior of the catalyst.

Production of chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass using novel cerium-incorporated, hierarchical HZSM-5

244th National Meeting (2012)

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