Comparative assessment of Mo/Ti and Mo/C catalysts for phenol hydrodeoxygenation: Influence of support and hydrogen treatment

Even if catalytic hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is a promising approach for converting bio-oil into high-value products, this reaction process still faces challenges related to the inherent high hydrogen consumption needed to perform it. Therefore, the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of phenol was herein studied in the gas phase using molybdenum catalysts supported on titania (Mo/Ti) and activated carbon (Mo/C) at atmospheric pressure in order to evaluate the consequences of hydrogen treatment on the catalytic properties of these Mo-based HDO catalysts. Samples were characterized by ICP-OES, XRD, XPS, Raman, TPR, H2O-TPD, and oxygen chemisorption, and the physicochemical properties were compared with their catalytic performances. Under the studied conditions, the support type and the hydrogen treatment cause changes in active species (MoO2 and MoO3), promoting different catalyst behaviors. However, all the catalysts studied were 100 % selective to benzene, indicating that the molybdenum active phase did not influence the selectivity of the reaction.