Direct conversion of cellobiose into sorbitol and catalyst deactivation mechanism

Ru/C catalyst and extremely low phosphoric acid were used for direct conversion of cellobiose into sorbitol under hydrogen atmosphere. Effects of various parameters and catalyst reuse on the reaction performance were investigated in detail. An optimized sorbitol yield of 87.1% was attained at 458   K and 3   MPa H 2 for 1   h with catalyst usage of 15% in 0.05   wt.% phosphoric acid. The physicochemical properties of used Ru/C catalysts were characterized with various techniques to explore the specific causes for deactivation.