Comparison of Pd- and Ru-containing composites in the process of selective reduction of furfural

A wide range of important chemicals derived from biomass, including furfural, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, levulinic acid, glycerin, etc., are obtained in large quantities from agricultural waste (cellulose and hemicellulose). Among them, furfural derived from C5 or C6 sugars is considered one of the top 30 platform chemicals derived from biomass. The reduction of furfural to furfuryl alcohol can be used to produce a variety of chemicals, including synthetic fibers, resins, foundry binders, binders, and other important platform molecules. Obtaining furfuryl alcohol using the selective reduction of furfural is a complex multi-stage process. The hydrogenation reaction of furfural has recently been carried out on composites based on Group VIII metals (Ru, Rh, Pd, Os, Ir, Pt). Therefore, a comparison was made of the catalytic properties of the 3%Pd/Al2O3 and 3%Ru/Al2O3 composites using the selective reduction of furfural to furfuryl alcohol. For a better understanding of the catalytic properties of both composites, the surface and porosity of the catalysts synthesized on its basis were determined by the BET method. For a qualitative analysis of isotherms, the Brunauer classification of isotherms is used, which is based on the relationship between the isotherm shape and the adsorption mechanism. Therefore, comparison of the experimentally obtained data with the shape of the isotherm of this classification allows us to make an assumption about the adsorption mechanism and the pore size in the material under study.