Hydrogenation of furfural to 2-methylfuran over Ni-M_o2c/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst

The current study focuses on the synthesis of a new supported catalyst by impregnation of the γ-Al₂O₃ solution of Ni and Mo salts and citric acid as carbon resource with the following temperature programmed treatment. Characterization of catalyst composition was performed using XANES/EXAFS method shown the presence of molybdenum carbide and metallic nickel. The oxide form of Mo and Ni were also detected. The supported catalyst was investigated in the hydrogenation reaction of furfural. The free-solution furfural conversion was carried out at a temperature of 160-260 °C and a hydrogen pressure of 5.0 MPa in a fixed bed reactor. The main hydrogenation products were furfuryl alcohol and 2-methylfuran. It was shown that 2-methylfuran formation increases with the reaction temperature and reaches around 75-80%. High temperature leads to fast catalyst deactivation due to polymer formation on its surface.