Robust Mesoporous CoMo/γ-Al₂ O₃ Catalysts from Cyclodextrin-Based Supramolecular Assemblies for Hydrothermal Processing of Microalgae: Effect of the Preparation Method

Rudina Bleta (1) , Benedetto Schiavo (2) , Natale Corsaro (3) , Paula Costa (4) , Alberto Giaconia (3) , Leonardo Interrante (2) , Eric Monflier (1) , Giuseppe Pipitone (5, 2) , Anne Ponchel (1) , Salvatore Sau (3) , Onofrio Scialdone (2) , Sébastien Tilloy (1) , Alessandro Galia (2)

1 UCCS Équipe Catalyse Supramoléculaire
2 Università degli studi di Palermo - University of Palermo
3 ENEA - Agenzia Nazionale per le nuove Tecnologie, l’energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile = Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
4 LNEG - Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia
5 UCCS - Unité de Catalyse et Chimie du Solide - UMR 8181

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a promising technology for the production of biocrude oil from microalgae. Although this catalyst-free technology is efficient under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, the biocrude yield and quality can be further improved by using heterogeneous catalysts. The design of robust catalysts that preserve their performance under hydrothermal conditions will be therefore very important in the development of biorefinery technologies. In this work, we describe two different synthetic routes (i.e., impregnation and cyclodextrin-assisted one-pot colloidal approach), for the preparation in aqueous phase of six high surface area CoMo/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts. Catalytic tests performed on the HTL of Nannochloropsis gaditana microalga indicate that solids prepared by the one-pot colloidal approach show higher hydrothermal stability and enhanced biocrude yield with respect to the catalyst-free test. The positive effect of the substitution of the block copolymer Tetronic T90R4 for Pluronic F127 in the preparation procedure was evidenced by diffuse reflectance UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, N₂-adsorption–desorption, and H₂-temperature-programmed reduction measurements and confirmed by the higher quality of the obtained biocrude, which exhibited lower oxygen content and higher-energy recovery equal to 62.5% of the initial biomass.

Domaines: Catalyse; Biotechnologies

Rudina Bleta, Benedetto Schiavo, Natale Corsaro, Paula Costa, Alberto Giaconia, et al.. Robust Mesoporous CoMo/γ-Al₂ O₃ Catalysts from Cyclodextrin-Based Supramolecular Assemblies for Hydrothermal Processing of Microalgae: Effect of the Preparation Method. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2018, 10 (15), pp.12562 - 12579. ⟨10.1021/acsami.7b16185⟩. ⟨hal-01787235⟩