One-Pot Production of Liquid Hydrocarbons by Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation of Lignocellulosic Biomass Using Nickel Loaded on Zeolite-Based Supports

The synthesis of liquid hydrocarbons from lignocellulosic biomass has been achieved with notable success. However, these technologies often require multistep approaches and are energy intensive. Thus, there is a considerable economic and environmental benefit of process intensification by the synthesis of liquid hydrocarbons in a one-pot process. For the first time, we report direct conversion of raw poplar into liquid alkanes and aromatics (carbon yield of 15.6 ± 0.6 wt %) with high selectivity toward C7–C15 cycloalkanes (7.8 ± 0.1 wt %) and low level of oxygenated compounds (<2.0 wt %) at 270 °C and 3 MPa initial H2 pressure for 6 h using 10% Ni/H-β zeolite as a catalyst and cyclohexane as a solvent. The effect of temperature (250–270 °C), Ni loading (0–10%), and type of zeolite support (H-β, ZSM-5, and USY) on process performance was also investigated. In addition, the 10% Ni/H-β catalyst showed recyclability over two reactions, with a 17.6% decrease in liquid hydrocarbon yield after the first reaction. This approach has the potential to simplify the synthesis of liquid fuels from lignocellulosic biomass.