For the production of biofuels to be cost-competitive requires catalyst technology with higher activity/selectivity, increased catalyst lifetime, and increased carbon efficiency than is currently available. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a characterization technique that can provide key insight into the geometric and/or electronic structure of catalysts that influence catalyst performance and lifetime. Coupling XAS and other characterization techniques, such as <i>in situ</i> scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), with advanced synthesis techniques enables the development of the next generation of catalysts. As one of the enabling technologies of the Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium (ChemCatBio), XAS is being employed to accelerate the development of catalyst technologies for upgrading of indirect liquefaction intermediates to produce liquid fuels or for catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) to deoxygenate biomass. In this presentation, we will present the results from XAS studies of Cu and/or Ga/BEA and Ni-based oligomerization catalysts being developed for upgrading of indirect liquefaction intermediates and bimetallic phosphide-based catalysts for CFP and discuss how the results from these studies have been used to design the next generation of catalysts.<br/>

Accelerating the development of catalysts for biofuel production through the application of x-ray absorption spectroscopy

255th National Meeting (2018)

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