Controllable hydrogenation of furfural over Ni-Fe-Al composite catalyst under mild conditions

This study investigates the catalytic hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural to value-added products, especially tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol and furfuryl alcohol. A series of Ni-Fe-Al composite catalysts were synthesized through co-precipitation and subsequent hydrogen reduction. Among these, the Ni 5 Fe 1 Al 2 catalyst demonstrated extraordinary catalytic performance, achieving complete furfural conversion and 92.9 % tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol selectivity under mild conditions (50 °C, 0.5 MPa H 2 ). Comprehensive characterization using XRD, TEM, and XPS revealed that the optimized Ni 5 Fe 1 Al 2 –400 catalyst possessed high dispersion and abundant oxygen vacancies. The addition of pyridine in the feed had a great impact on the hydrogenation rate of furfuryl alcohol but much less on that of furfural. With pyridine in the feed, the main product shifted from tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol to furfuryl alcohol, while maintaining complete furfural conversion and achieving 97.5 % furfuryl alcohol selectivity at 50 °C. The Ni 5 Fe 1 Al 2 –400 deactivated in the 50-h run and can be regenerated by simple in-situ reduction, demonstrating excellent regenerability. These findings provide valuable insights into the design of efficient catalysts for selective biomass conversion.