Sustainable Catalytic Routes for the Production of Green Synthetic Fuels and Other Value-Added Products

A special issue of Catalysts (ISSN 2073-4344). This special issue belongs to the section "Catalysis for Sustainable Energy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2024 | Viewed by 2592

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Qualidade e Tecnologia (INMETRO), Duque de Caxias, RJ, Brazil
Interests: heterogeneous catalysis; catalysts synthesis; CO2 conversion; biomass conversion and sustainable process; graphene-based catalysts; supported-organocatalysts; nanometrology applied to catalysts
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Increasing concern with regard to fuel fossil dependency and climate change has triggered the search for sustainable energy and clean production processes. Various strategies have been considered to this end, wherein catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to obtain high-added-value products has received particular attention. CO2 hydrogenation has gained renewed interest boosted by the development of green hydrogen. Among the possible products of this process, green gasoline appears promising for extending the life of the current automotive fleet and fuel distribution infrastructure.

Another outstanding strategy for the production of fuels and chemicals relies on biomass valorization through the use of building block molecules for their subsequent conversion to chemicals and fuels. These molecules are versatile structures, with distinct functional groups, thus being more susceptible to conversion to a variety of chemicals. A wide range of platform molecules can be derived from biomass, such as four-carbon diacids (malic, fumaric and succinic acid) 5-(hydroxymethyl) furfural (HMF), furans and ethanol, to mention few, which can be catalytically converted into fuels, chemicals and materials such as biobased polymers, lubricants, solvents and fuels.

This Special Issue is dedicated to the use of heterogeneous catalysis for the transformation of materials classified as pollutant or waste into high-added-value, sustainable products. High-quality research in the field utilizing experimental, theoretical and economical analysis and focusing on the development of new catalysts are welcome.

Dr. Adriana Maria da Silva
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • catalytic CO2 hydrogenation
  • Fisher–Tropsch
  • biomass valorization
  • platform molecules
  • green fuels

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 8018 KiB  
Article
Highly Efficient PtSn/Al2O3 and PtSnZnCa/Al2O3 Catalysts for Ethane Dehydrogenation: Influence of Catalyst Pretreatment Atmosphere
by Seetharamulu Podila, Abdulrahim A. Al-Zahrani, Muhammad A. Daous and Hesham Alhumade
Catalysts 2024, 14(5), 312; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14050312 - 9 May 2024
Viewed by 889
Abstract
Increased demand for ethylene has motivated direct ethane dehydrogenation over Pt-based catalysts. PtSn/γ-Al2O3 and PtSnZnCa/γ-Al2O3 catalysts were investigated with the aim of understanding the effect of the pretreatment environment on the state of dispersed Pt for ethane [...] Read more.
Increased demand for ethylene has motivated direct ethane dehydrogenation over Pt-based catalysts. PtSn/γ-Al2O3 and PtSnZnCa/γ-Al2O3 catalysts were investigated with the aim of understanding the effect of the pretreatment environment on the state of dispersed Pt for ethane dehydrogenation. The catalysts were prepared by the impregnation method and pretreated in different environments like static air (SA), flowing air (FA), and nitrogen (N2) atmospheres. A comprehensive characterization of the catalysts was performed using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Temperature-Programmed Reduction (TPR), NH3 Temperature-Programmed Desorption (NH3-TPD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques. The results reveal that the PtSn on Al2O3 catalyst pretreated in the static air environment (PtSn-SA) exhibits 21% ethylene yield with 95% selectivity at 625 °C. XPS analysis found more platinum and tin on the catalyst surface after static air treatment. The overall acidity of the catalysts decreased after thermal treatment in static air. Elemental mapping demonstrated that Pt agglomeration was pronounced in catalysts calcined under flowing air and nitrogen. These factors are responsible for the enhanced activity of the PtSn-SA catalyst compared to the other catalysts. The addition of Zn and Ca to the PtSn catalysts increases the yield of the catalyst calcined in static air (PtSnZnCa-SA). The PtSnZnCa-SA catalyst showed the highest ethylene yield of 27% with 99% selectivity and highly stable activity at 625 °C for 10 h. Full article
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20 pages, 5292 KiB  
Article
One-Step Production of Highly Selective Ethylbenzene and Propylbenzene from Benzene and Carbon Dioxide via Coupling Reaction
by Tianyun Wang, Yingjie Guan, Haidan Wu, Zhaojie Su, Jianguo Zhuang, Siyan Yan, Xuedong Zhu and Fan Yang
Catalysts 2024, 14(5), 288; https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14050288 - 24 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1125
Abstract
Utilizing carbon dioxide as a carbon source for the synthesis of olefins and aromatics has emerged as one of the most practical methods for CO2 reduction. In this study, an improved selectivity of 85% for targeting products (ethylbenzene and propylbenzene) is achieved [...] Read more.
Utilizing carbon dioxide as a carbon source for the synthesis of olefins and aromatics has emerged as one of the most practical methods for CO2 reduction. In this study, an improved selectivity of 85% for targeting products (ethylbenzene and propylbenzene) is achieved with a benzene conversion of 16.8% by coupling the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to olefins over the bifunctional catalyst “Oxide-Zeolite” (OX-ZEO) and the alkylation of benzene with olefins over ZSM-5. In addition to investigating the influence of SAPO-34 and ZSM-5 zeolite acidity on product distribution, catalyst deactivation due to coke formation is addressed by modifying both molecular sieves to be hierarchical to extend the catalyst lifespan. Even after 100 h of operation at 400 °C, the catalysts maintained over 80% selectivity towards the target products, with benzene conversion over 14.2%. Furthermore, the pathway of propylbenzene formation is demonstrated through simple experimental design, revealing that the surface Brønsted acid sites of SAPO-34 serve as its primary formation sites. This provides a novel perspective for further investigation of the reaction network. Full article
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: From pollutant to added-value products and green fuel – the power of CO2 catalytic Conversion
Authors: João L. M. Barros, Ricardo J. Chimentão, João O. dos Santos, Carlos A. Franchini, José M. C. Bueno, Adriana M. Silva
Affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Qualidade e Tecnologia (INMETRO), Duque de Caxias, RJ, Brazil

Title: Recent advances in sustainable catalytic routes for hydrogenation of CO2 to formic acid
Authors: Haixin Guo
Affiliation: Institute of Agricultural Information, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Tianjin, China

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