Conventional Eh-pH diagrams only identify dominant species in isolated stability regions, lacking quantitative speciation concentrations and coordination structures essential for designing spent lithium-ion battery recycling processes. Here we propose a...
Hollistic assessment of the physical properties, production costs and environmental impacts of paper hand sheets produced from wood and non-wood blends.
Depolymerization via inherent Ti catalyst in poly(ethylene) furanoate waste is effective in turning it into valuable feedstock, thereby helping to create a circular economy.
This work aims to determine whether a mixed MoWC carbide, previously developed in our group, could effectively catalyze the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of an actual lignin depolymerization oil. This catalyst exhibits a high density of H2-activation sites and tunable oxophilicity due to the presence of metallic tungsten in its phase composition. It had previously demonstrated exceptional catalytic performance in the HDO of lignin model compounds including guaiacol and eugenol. A two-step catalytic strategy was therefore carried out for the efficient valorization of lignin into aromatic hydrocarbons. In the first step, lignin was depolymerized using highly dispersed ruthenium nanoparticles supported on activated carbon as a catalyst, under varying reaction conditions involving different ethanol–water solvent systems and NaOH as a co-catalyst. Modulation of the reaction conditions enabled tuning of product distributions, with the presence of NaOH notably promoting the formation of dealkylated aromatic monomers. The resulting lignin oil was subsequently subjected to hydrodeoxygenation over the mixed molybdenum–tungsten carbide MoWC catalyst. This catalyst allowed reaching up to 80% of fully deoxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons in the liquid products. These results underscore the potential of the MoWC catalyst in upgrading complex, real lignin derived oils.
