Selective conversion of furfuryl alcohol to 1,2-pentanediol over a Ru/MnOx catalyst in aqueous phase

Bin Zhang; Yulei Zhu; Guoqiang Ding; Hongyan Zheng; Yongwang Li

doi:10.1039/C2GC36270H

Selective conversion of furfuryl alcohol to 1,2-pentanediol over a Ru/MnO_xcatalyst in aqueous phase

Bin Zhang,^ab Yulei Zhu,*^ac Guoqiang Ding,^c Hongyan Zheng^c and Yongwang Li^ac

* Corresponding authors

^a State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 165, Taiyuan, P.R. China
E-mail: zhuyulei@sxicc.ac.cn

^b University of the Chinese Academy of Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China

^c Synfuels CHINA Co. Ltd, Taiyuan, P.R. China

Abstract

The aqueous-phase hydrogenolysis of furfuryl alcohol (FFA) to 1,2-pentanediol (1,2-PeD) was carried out on a series of supported Ru catalysts and MnO_x supported Pt, Pd and Rh catalysts. The Ru/MnO_x catalysts showed high selectivity for 1,2-PeD, while the Pd and Rh catalysts displayed high selectivity for tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. The function of MnO_x, the effects of solvent, temperature, H₂ pressure and reaction time were further investigated. The support MnO_x in the Ru/MnO_x catalysts not only suppressed the polymerization of the FFA, but also enhanced the 1,2-PeD selectivity. Low pressure and high temperature favoured the generation of 1,2-PeD, and water significantly enhanced the reaction rate. At 150 °C, 1.5 MPa, the yield of 1,2-PeD was up to 42.1% over the Ru/MnO_x catalyst. The proposed mechanism for FFA hydrogenolysis in aqueous medium over the Ru/MnO_x catalyst is suggested to occur via a partially hydrogenated intermediate.

Article information

https://doi.org/10.1039/C2GC36270H

Article type

Paper

Submitted

10 Aug 2012

Accepted

08 Oct 2012

First published

09 Oct 2012

Download Citation

Green Chem., 2012,14, 3402-3409

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Selective conversion of furfuryl alcohol to 1,2-pentanediol over a Ru/MnO_x catalyst in aqueous phase

B. Zhang, Y. Zhu, G. Ding, H. Zheng and Y. Li, Green Chem., 2012, 14, 3402 DOI: 10.1039/C2GC36270H

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