Description:
Highly efficient synthesis of 1,4-pentanediol (1,4-PDO) from industrialized biomass-based products is still a challenge due to the inherent chemical stability of intermediate product γ-valerolactone. The aim of the present research was to evaluate the influence of synthetic conditions of CuMgAl layered double hydroxides in their physicochemical properties as well as the catalytic performance in pure ethyl levulinate hydrogenation to produce 1,4-PDO in the fixed-bed reactors. Systematic characterizations results demonstrated that the CuMgAl catalyst prepared with mixed alkali as precipitant has appropriate amount of acid-basic sites and higher electron cloud density of Cu, which could well activate the carbonyl functional groups in the substrate molecule, and thus excellent reaction performance can be obtained. Ultimately, two-stage-packed dual solid catalysts in the fixed-bed reactors was designed for one-step conversion of industrial furfuryl alcohol (FOL) to 1,4-PDO through alcoholysis hydrogenation integrated continuous process. 94.3% yield of 1,4-PDO can be obtained from FOL in this effective tandem reaction