Hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived levulinic acid to produce 1,4-pentanediol over Co/ZrO2 catalyst

BACKGROUND Levulinic acid is an important platform chemical derivable from lignocellulosic biomass. In this work, the hydrogenolysis of levulinic acid to produce 1,4-pentanediol was performed over some Co-based non-noble catalysts. The relationship between the catalyst properties and the catalytic activity was investigated, and the effects of the reaction conditions on the catalytic activity were studied. RESULTS The Co/ZrO 2 catalyst prepared by a coprecipitation method showed a high catalytic performance in the hydrogenolysis of levulinic acid to form 1,4-pentanediol. The calcination of Co/ZrO 2 significantly affected the catalytic activity, and a high calcination temperature of 750 °C could promote the formation of 1,4-pentanediol. Meanwhile, the reduction of Co/ZrO 2 at 400 °C in an H 2 flow was beneficial for producing 1,4-pentanediol, and the Co species after the reduction existed as the forms of Co 2+ and Co 0 . A high H 2 pressure and a moderate reaction temperature of 200 °C were beneficial for producing 1,4-pentanediol, and a high 1,4-pentanediol selectivity of 85.6% with a complete conversion of levulinic acid was obtained over the Co/ZrO 2 catalyst at 200 °C under an H 2 pressure of 7 MPa. CONCLUSION The Co species in the 400 °C-reduced Co/ZrO 2 catalyst existed as the forms of Co 2+ and Co 0 . It was proposed that the synergistic effect of Co 2+ and Co 0 contributed to the effective formation of 1,4-pentanediol from levulinic acid. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).