Hydrogenolysis of alkali lignin via a non-precious Co-Mo bimetallic catalyst supported on attapulgite-Ce0.75Zr0.25O2

Lignin is the world’s greatest renewable aromatic biomass resource, with considerable potential for the development of high-value-added compounds. Herein, wet impregnation was employed to create Co-Mo/ATP-CZO bimetallic catalysts, which were then used to catalyze the depolymerization of lignin in ethanol and isopropanol. The findings of the characterization revealed that doping Mo metals resulted in the change of metallic oxide phase, which increased the oxygen vacancy (O V ), improved metal-carrier interaction, and decreased acid center content. The results of the experiments demonstrated that catalytic hydrogenation with a 12Mo-20Co/ATP-CZO catalyst at 240 °C for 8 h produced the maximum yield of bio-oil (57.44 wt%, including 37.58 wt% of monomer). Under these conditions, the bio-oil had a higher heating value of 33.20 MJ/kg, which was significantly higher than the alkali lignin’s 19.62 MJ/kg. Catalyst stability tests also revealed good recyclability. This research will provide an efficient method for depolymerizing lignin. Graphical abstract