Direct Catalytic Conversion of Cellulose into Ethylene Glycol Using Nickel-Promoted Tungsten Carbide Catalysts

摘要

Cellulose, the most abundant source of biomass, is currently regarded as a promising alternative for fossil fuels as it cannot be digested by human beings and thus its use, unlike corn and starch, will not impose a negative impact on food supplies.One of the most attractive routes for the reaction of cellulose utilization is its direct conversion into useful organic compounds. A recent example of the catalytic conversion of cellulose has been demonstrated by Fukuoka and Dhepe, who utilized Pt/Al2O3 as an effective catalyst to convert cellulose into sugar alcohols1 (Scheme 1, Route A). The product sugar alcohols can be used as chemicals in their own right or as new starting materials for the production of fuels, as demonstrated by Dumesic and co-workers. Recently, Luo et al. have studied this process further. In their work, the reaction was conducted at elevated temperatures so that water could generate H~+ ions to catalyze the hydrolysis reactions. The subsequent hydrogenation reaction was catalyzed by Ru/C. An increased sugar alcohol yield was obtained, which was attributed to the higher reaction temperatures and the well-known high efficiency of Ru/C in the hydrogenation reaction.