Upgrading of Lignin-Derived Compounds: Reactions of Eugenol Catalyzed by HY Zeolite and by Pt/γ-Al2O3

The conversion of eugenol (4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol), a compound derived from the lignin in woody biomass, was catalyzed by HY zeolite at 573 K and atmospheric pressure. The main products were isoeugenol and guaiacol, formed by isomerization and by deallylation, respectively. Substituted guaiacols with saturated side-chains (4-methylguaiacol, 4-ethylguaiacol, and 4-propylguaiacol) were also formed, by hydrogen transfer and alkylation reactions. The pseudo-first-order rate constant for the overall disappearance of eugenol was found to be 12.4 L (g of catalyst)/h. When the catalyst was Pt/gamma-Al2O3 used in the presence of H-2, significant hydrogenation of the propenyl side-chain took place, accompanied by isomerization, and hydrodeoxygenation. Under similar operating conditions, the reaction catalyzed by Pt/gamma-Al2O3 in the presence of H-2 gave a higher eugenol conversion (X = 0.70) than the reaction catalyzed by HY zeolite (X = 0.11), primarily because of the dominant hydrogenation observed with the former catalyst. In the absence of H-2 as a co-reactant, the acidic gamma-Al2O3 support in Pt/gamma-Al2O3 evidently catalyzed all the classes of reactions catalyzed by HY zeolite.