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Efficient hydrothermal deoxygenation of methyl palmitate to diesel-like hydrocarbons on carbon encapsulated Ni−Sn intermetallic compounds with methanol as hydrogen donor

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Abstract

Porous carbon-encapsulated Ni and Ni–Sn intermetallic compound catalysts were prepared by the one-pot extended Stöber method followed by carbonization and tested for in-situ hydrothermal deoxygenation of methyl palmitate with methanol as the hydrogen donor. During the catalyst preparation, Sn doping reduces the size of carbon spheres, and the formation of Ni–Sn intermetallic compounds restrain the graphitization, contributing to larger pore volume and pore diameter. Consequently, a more facile mass transfer occurs in carbon-encapsulated Ni-Sn intermetallic compound catalysts than in carbon-encapsulated Ni catalysts. During the in-situ hydrothermal deoxygenation, the synergism between Ni and Sn favors palmitic acid hydrogenation to a highly reactive hexadecanal that easily either decarbonylate to n-pentadecane or is hydrogenated to hexadecanol. At high reaction temperature, hexadecanol undergoes dehydrogenation-decarbonylation, generating n-pentadecane. Also, the C-C bond hydrolysis and methanation are suppressed on Ni-Sn intermetallic compounds, favorable for increasing the carbon yield and reducing the H2 consumption. The n-pentadecane and n-hexadecane yields reached 88.1% and 92.8% on carbon-encapsulated Ni3Sn2 intermetallic compound at 330 °C. After washing and H2 reduction, the carbon-encapsulated Ni3Sn2 intermetallic compound remains stable during three recycling cycles. This is ascribed to the carbon confinement that effectively suppresses the sintering and loss of metal particles under harsh hydrothermal conditions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21576193 and 21176177).

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  1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Applied Catalysis Science and Technology, Department of Catalysis Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350, China

    Haonan Shi, Xiaoyu Gu, Yinteng Shi, Dandan Wang, Sihao Shu, Zhongze Wang & Jixiang Chen

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  1. Haonan Shi
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Correspondence to Jixiang Chen.

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Efficient hydrothermal deoxygenation of methyl palmitate to diesel-like hydrocarbons on carbon encapsulated Ni−Sn intermetallic compounds with methanol as hydrogen donor

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Shi, H., Gu, X., Shi, Y. et al. Efficient hydrothermal deoxygenation of methyl palmitate to diesel-like hydrocarbons on carbon encapsulated Ni−Sn intermetallic compounds with methanol as hydrogen donor. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 17, 139–155 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-022-2217-4

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