Highly selective catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol to cyclohexane over Pt/TiO₂ and NiMo/Al₂O₃ catalysts

Catalysts Pt/TiO₂ and NiMo/Al₂O₃ are highly active and selective for the hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol in a fixed bed reactor at 300 °C and 7.1 MPa, leading to the hydrogenation of aromatic ring, followed by demethylation and dehydroxylation to produce cyclohexane. For a complete hydrodeoxygenation of guaiacol, metal sites and acid sites are required. NiMo/Al₂O₃ and Pt/Al₂O₃ are more active and selective for cyclohexane formation as compared with Pt/TiO₂ at 285 °C and 4 MPa. However, Pt/TiO₂ is stable while the other two catalysts deactivate due to the nature and amount of coke formation during the reaction.