Role of zeolite properties in bio-oil deoxygenation and hydrocarbons production by catalytic cracking

Gas adsorption is an important tool for the characterisation of porous solids and fine powders. Major advances in recent years have made it necessary to update the 1985 IUPAC manual on Reporting Physisorption Data for Gas/Solid Systems. The aims of the present document are to clarify and standardise the presentation, nomenclature and methodology associated with the application of physisorption for surface area assessment and pore size analysis and to draw attention to remaining problems in the interpretation of physisorption data.

Recent advances in bifunctional catalysis for conversion of syngas and hydrogenation of CO 2 into chemicals and fuels have been highlighted. Catalytic transformations of syngas (a mixture of H 2 and CO), which is one of the most important C1-chemistry platforms, and CO 2 , a greenhouse gas released from human industrial activities but also a candidate of abundant carbon feedstock, into chemicals and fuels have attracted much attention in recent years. Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis is a classic route of syngas chemistry, but the product selectivity of FT synthesis is limited by the Anderson–Schulz–Flory (ASF) distribution. The hydrogenation of CO 2 into C 2+ hydrocarbons involving C–C bond formation encounters similar selectivity limitation. The present article focuses on recent advances in breaking the selectivity limitation by using a reaction coupling strategy for hydrogenation of both CO and CO 2 into C 2+ hydrocarbons, which include key building-block chemicals, such as lower (C 2 –C 4 ) olefins and aromatics, and liquid fuels, such as gasoline (C 5 –C 11 hydrocarbons), jet fuel (C 8 –C 16 hydrocarbons) and diesel fuel (C 10 –C 20 hydrocarbons). The design and development of novel bifunctional or multifunctional catalysts, which are composed of metal, metal carbide or metal oxide nanoparticles and zeolites, for hydrogenation of CO and CO 2 to C 2+ hydrocarbons beyond FT synthesis will be reviewed. The key factors in controlling catalytic performances, such as the catalyst component, the acidity and mesoporosity of the zeolite and the proximity between the metal/metal carbide/metal oxide and zeolite, will be analysed to provide insights for designing efficient bifunctional or multifunctional catalysts. The reaction mechanism, in particular the activation of CO and CO 2 , the reaction pathway and the reaction intermediate, will be discussed to provide a deep understanding of the chemistry of the new C1 chemistry routes beyond FT synthesis.