High Catalytic Efficiency of Lignin Depolymerization over Low Pd-Zeolite Y Loading at Mild Temperature

This paper reports a novel low-temperature process for aromatics production through lignin depolymerization catalyzed by Pd-zeolite Y catalyst. Under the hydrogen atmosphere, aromatics were the predominant products with high yields of phenols and dimers. The prepared Pd-zeolite Y catalysts by a facile method exhibited much higher catalytic efficiency than zeolite Y or commercial Pd/Al2O3-Zeolite composites. Results revealed that the Pd-zeolite Y catalyst is a highly active catalyst for the cleavage of lignin inter-linkages, especially the C-O-C bonds by hydrogenolysis.