Study of Mo-based sepiolite catalyst on depolymerization of lignin under supercritical ethanol

A unique Mo/SEP catalyst using low-cost and available sepiolite as support was prepared by wet impregnation method. All catalyst performances of the Mo/SEP catalysts were studied in process of lignin catalytic depolymerization (LCD) under supercritical ethanol with nitrogen pressure, and the effects of reaction temperatures and reaction time on LCD process were also investigated. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques were used to characterize the structural characteristics of the fresh and spent catalysts, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed to analyze the compositions of the obtained liquid product. The results indicated that Mo/SEP catalyst had unique performance for LCD, and the highest soluble fraction yield of petroleum ether of 47.6% and yield of liquid product of 63.5% were obtained with constantly reacting for 4 hours at 290 degrees C and 6.5 MPa N-2. In addition, relevant characterizations demonstrated that the reaction temperature could cause the phase transfer of catalyst and change of Mo6+ to Mo5+ species. The conversion degree of Mo6+ to Mo5+ was the major reason responding for the catalytic performance of Mo/SEP catalyst during LCD process.