Upgrading of biofuels is very important to use the bio-oils obtained from catalytic fast pyrolysis of lingo-cellulosic bio-mass for a sustainable energy future. Hydrodeoxygenation process removes the excess oxygentates present in the bio-oil and improves the properties of the fuel. Current limitations for catalysts that perform hydrodeoxygenation are often expensive, poor hydrothermal stability, coke formation, losing activity in presence of coke to name a few. Herein, we report the synthesis of cost-effective, hydrothermally stable, high surface area with uniform pore size and reusable molybdenum incorporated on a 3-D pore structured mesoporous silica KIT-5 catalyst.  The catalysts were synthesized with different hydrothermal treatment temperatures and various amounts of metal loading. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The catalyst prepared was very effective for hydrodeoxygenation of p-cresol with high conversions and very selective for toluene.

Synthesis and characterization of molybdenum incorporated mesoporous silica catalyst for catalytic upgrading of biofuels

246th National Meeting (2013)

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