Recent Impacts of Heterogeneous Catalysis in Biorefineries

Identifier:  imarina:9241831

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina9241831

Authors:  Ahorsu, Richard; Constanti, Magda; Medina, Francesc

Abstract:
Renewable biofuel will play a critical role in our energy future by lowering our dependency on fossil fuel because energy shortage is not a remote possibility but is on the horizon. Biofuels are a valuable substitute due to the enormous transportation infrastructure currently in place to support their use and distribution. Apparently, efficient production processes are being developed for both drop-in fuels and fuel additives. Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) over heterogeneous catalysts provides paths to platform compounds into a range of building block chemicals; however, the selectivity of these reactions is limited due to identical functional groups in intermediate compounds. HDO reactions are complex, as they occur at multiple sites of solid catalysts. Catalyst stability and selectivity toward desirable products are crucial in the design of HDO catalysts. In addition, reduced surface area and phase transformation of catalyst supports could occur with the HDO process. In this review, the exact basis of heterogeneous catalysis is introduced. After that, an insight into how the catalyst's size, porosity, facets, edges, and corners affect selectivity and yields during HDO is provided. Recent strategies in developing heterogeneous catalytic systems to overcome harsh reactions conditions associated with HDO are discussed.