Enhanced production and control of liquid alkanes in the hydrogenolysis of polypropylene over shaped Ru/CeO2 catalysts


Tomer, Ajay, Islam, Mazharul M, Bahri, Mounib ORCID: 0000-0002-8336-9158, Inns, Donald R ORCID: 0000-0002-5890-7559, Manning, Troy D, Claridge, John B, Browning, Nigel D, Catlow, C Richard A, Roldan, Alberto, Katsoulidis, Alexandros P ORCID: 0000-0003-0860-7440 et al (show 1 more authors) (2023) Enhanced production and control of liquid alkanes in the hydrogenolysis of polypropylene over shaped Ru/CeO2 catalysts. Applied Catalysis A: General, 666. p. 119431.

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Abstract

The hydrogenolysis of polypropylene waste to liquid hydrocarbons offers a promising pathway for the chemical recycling of waste polymers. This work describes the importance of reaction conditions and support morphology to produce high liquid yields with enhanced control of chain length over highly active shaped and non-shaped Ru/CeO2 catalysts. The shaped 2 wt% Ru/CeO2 exhibit high liquid alkane yields (58–81%) when compared to the non-shaped 2 wt% Ru/CeO2 (liquid yield: 34–58%) under optimized reaction conditions (220 °C, 16 h, 30 bar H2). In particular, the 2 wt% Ru/CeO2 nanocube catalyst exhibits the highest activity yielding lighter hydrocarbons. This was rationalized to be a combination of small Ru cluster formation and enhanced metal-support interactions. The influence of larger Ru particles (≥1.5 nm) was confirmed mechanistically using a computational density functional theory study on the hydrogenolysis of pentane (C5) to determine the favorable formation of methane in the non-shaped Ru/CeO2 catalyst.

Item Type: Article
Divisions: Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering
Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Physical Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 03 Oct 2023 07:23
Last Modified: 08 Oct 2023 11:29
DOI: 10.1016/j.apcata.2023.119431
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URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3173300
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