Nickel-tungsten co-doped biochar catalyst boosting ethylene glycol production from cellulose hydrogenolysis

Promoted ethylene glycol (EG) yield from cellulose hydrogenolysis is achieved via using Nickel-tungsten doped carbon catalysts prepared from glucose ( x %Ni- y %WO x -GC T ). Synchronously metal loading and carbon formation endow the catalyst excellent catalytic performance and high stability. Mechanistic investigations of the effects of metal loading and BrØnsted acid on EG yield are conducted. Increasing W loading promotes the content of polymerized WO x and consequently increases the amount of polytungstate species, thus lead to an improved BrØnsted acid content. Results reveal that promotion of B/L acid facilitates cellulose hydrolysis and suppresses isomerization of glucose to fructose. Besides, high W loading is beneficial for reduction of WO x to form W 5+ , producing oxygen vacancies to promote retro aldol condensation (RAC) of glucose to form acetaldehyde alcohol (an important intermediate for EG). By adopting the optimized 9%Ni-12%WO x -GC 700 catalyst, a 100% cellulose conversion with a high EG yield of 65% is obtained due to the synergistic interactions between BrØnsted acid, W 5+ and Ni 0+ active sites.