Selective hydrogenation of furfuryl alcohol to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol over Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts

A series of nickel-based catalysts (with <5 nm Ni particle size) with gamma-alumina as a support (x wt% Ni/gamma-Al2O3, x represents the Ni loading amount) were synthesized by the impregnation method, which was successfully applied for the catalytic hydrogenation of furfuryl alcohol to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol. The effects of reaction time, reaction temperature, nickel loading amount, solvent, and hydrogen pressure on conversion of furfural alcohol as well as selectivity for tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol were investigated systematically. The conversion of furfural alcohol over 15 wt% Ni/gamma-Al2O3 was up to 99.8 % with a selectivity of 99.5 % toward tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol, when the reaction was carried out at 353 K with an initial H-2 pressure of 4.0 MPa and reaction time of 2 h. In addition, there was an increase of turnover frequency (TOF) value with the decrease of Ni particle size. The features of the Ni/gamma-Al2O3 catalysts were investigated by characterization of XRD, TPR, BET, and SEM.