Hydrodeoxygenation of lignin to hydrocarbons using bimetallic catalysts

Abstract

Bimetallic catalysts for the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) conversion of lignin into useful hydrocarbons are provided. The catalysts are bifunctional bimetallic ruthenium catalysts Ru-M/X + Y comprising a metal M such as iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu) or zinc (Zn), zeolite Y and cation X + (e.g. H + ) associated with zeolite Y.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A bifunctional bimetallic catalyst having a chemical formula Ru-M/XY, where M is a metal, Y is a Y zeolite and X is a cation associated with the Y zeolite. 
     
     
         2 . The bifunctional bimetallic catalyst of  claim 1  wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn. 
     
     
         3 . The bifunctional bimetallic catalyst of  claim 1  wherein the cation is selected from the group consisting of H+, Na + , K +  and NH 4+ . 
     
     
         4 . A method of producing at least one hydrocarbon from lignan, comprising
 exposing a reaction mixture comprising lignin to a bimetallic catalyst having of chemical formula Ru-M/XY, where M is a metal, Y is a Y zeolite and X is a cation associated with the Y zeolite, wherein the step of exposing is performed under conditions suitable for hydrodeoxygenation of lignin in the reaction mixture; and   recovering at least one hydrocarbon from the reaction mixture after hydrodeoxygenation of the lignin.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the cation is selected from the group consisting of H+, Na + , K +  and NH 4+ . 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the at least one hydrocarbon is a cyclohexane derivative. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the cyclohexane derivative is selected from the group consisting of methylcyclohexane, ethylcyclohexane, 1,1′-bi(cyclohexane), dicyclohexylmethane and 1,2-dicyclohexylethane. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the at least one hydrocarbon is a fuel or a fuel additive. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the fuel or the fuel additive is selected from the group consisting of a paraffin, an alkylbenzene, an indan, a tetralin, naphthalene, a substituted naphthalene, a cycloolefin, a cyclohexanone and a cyclohexanol derivative. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the fuel or the fuel additive is a paraffin and the paraffin is a monocycloparaffin, a dicycloparaffin or a tricycloparaffin. 
     
     
         12 . A method of making a bifunctional bimetallic catalyst, comprising loading ruthenium and a metal M onto a zeolite support Y comprising an associated cation X. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the metal M is selected from the group consisting of Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the cation X is selected from the group consisting of H+, Na + , K +  and NH 4+ . 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the step of loading is performed by a technique selected from the group consisting of ion exchange with metal cations in liquid solution, impregnation with a metal salt solution, ion-adsorption, precipitation and a sol-gel technique.