•Ni/CNT and CuNi/CNT were applied in liquid-phase hydrogenation of furfural.•Bimetallic CuNi catalysts exhibit 90.3% yield towards THFA at mild conditions.•These catalysts can be used in processes for upgrading other bio-oils components.A series of Ni, Cu and bimetallic CuNi catalysts with different metals loadings supported on CNTs were prepared by impregnation methods for liquid-phase hydrogenation of furfural to tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA). Various effects of reaction parameters such as, reaction temperature, reaction time, hydrogen pressure, different supports and different loading amount of Ni over both monometallic and bimetallic catalysts were fully studied. Among the catalysts investigated, 10 wt% Ni/CNT and bimetallic CuNi catalysts showed high conversion of furfural and selectivity towards THFA. Bimetallic CuNi catalysts exhibit the best catalytic performance of 100% conversion of furfural and up to 90.3% selectivity towards THFA at mild condition of 130 °C, 40 bar hydrogen and 10 h reaction time. CuNi bimetallic synergistic effect has been interpreted through XPS measurement and a possible hydrogen-transfer mechanism is proposed. The features of the CNTs supported catalysts were investigated via XRD, XPS, TEM, H2-TPR and the N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms. The Ni and bimetallic CuNi catalysts prepared in this work is inexpensive and simple, which makes them a promising candidate for the conversion of furfural to THFA.

Biomass is expected to be a substitute for traditional fossil fuels because it is renewable and environmentally friendly. Bio-oil, as an important utilization of biomass, has a complex composition. Accordingly, it remains a great challenge for oxygenated compounds in bio-oil to be upgraded, especially for furfural. In this research, a highly active catalyst with 1 wt% palladium supported on activated carbon (Pd/AC) was prepared by impregnating Pd species on modified activated carbon, which was applied to furfural catalytic hydrogenation in super critical carbon dioxide (scCO2). The conversion rate (79%) was higher than that obtained in toluene as solvent (60%). A selectivity of furfuralcohol and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol of up to 100% was achieved in scCO2 conditions with no byproducts obtained. In contrast, the total selectivity was only 60% using ethanol as solvent. Meanwhile, the reaction conditions in the scCO2 including hydrogen pressure and catalyst amount have been investigated. The Pd/AC catalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, IR and BET techniques. A green solvent, and high activity and selectivity present real advantages of this method over other methods.

The carbon particulate matter (PM) generated by diesel engine emissions has attracted world-wide attention because it has a remarkable impact on air quality and the human body. Therefore, research on the removal of carbon PM has attracted increasing interest recently. Additionally, oxidative removal of carbon PM requires high temperature due to its high activation energy. In this research, a promising technology of nonthermal plasma (NTP) combined with catalytic oxidation is reported. The effective removal of carbon PM under NTP conditions by the synergy of combining plasma with MnOx/CeO2 catalysts at low temperatures was reported in this paper. The removal efficiency of carbon PM on MnOx/CeO2 catalysts (Mn loading 5.0 wt%) can be as high as 85.2% and 94.3% at 20 °C and 200 °C respectively, at the discharge power of 18.0 W and air flow rate of 30 mL min−1. Moderate reaction conditions with low temperature but high removal efficiency are the advantages of the decomposition of carbon PM in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. It is proposed that reactive oxygen species produced under NTP conditions are responsible for carbon PM converting into CO2. Furthermore, various parameters such as temperature, discharge power and air flow rate under NTP were investigated in the present paper, as well as the reaction process of NTP. Meanwhile, the MnOx/CeO2 catalysts were also characterized by XRD and TEM techniques.

A novel 0.1% Pd-0.05% (mass fraction) Pt/stainless steel wire mesh catalyst was prepared for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) elimination. The catalyst was synthesized by stainless steel wire mesh as support and then treated by anodic oxidation technology to develop a porous membrane on the support. During the anodic oxidation process, various electrolytes were used to investigate the formation of porous membrane. And the catalytic performance of the catalysts was tested by using toluene and acetone combustion as model reaction. The temperatures of complete toluene and acetone conversion were decreased to 180 °C and 240 °C, respectively. The morphologies of the stainless steel wire mesh supports and catalysts were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR).

Thin ordered micropore ZSM-5 zeolite membrane has formed on the stainless steel surface. The influence of three different pre-treatment methods for the growth of ZSM-5 zeolite membrane on the stainless steel was studied, including mechanical polishing, soaking in a 20 wt.% sulfuric acid aqueous solution and anodic oxidation treatment. It was found that the anodic oxidation technique was more favorable for the growth of ZSM-5 zeolite membrane on the stainless steel surface compared with the other two methods. By this appropriate pre-treatment process, ordered ZSM-5 zeolite membrane was immobilized on the stainless steel surface and it showed good interaction with the stainless steel. Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy result indicates that the ZSM-5 zeolite membrane has a Si/Al ratio of 37. X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study the crystal structure, specific surface area and morphologies of the ZSM-5 zeolite membrane.

A novel palladium supported on cerium, lanthanum, praseodymium and zirconium-pillared montmorillonite (MMT) catalysts are prepared and for the catalytic combustion of toluene, acetone and ethyl acetate. The order of catalytic activity is consistent with the different support: La–Zr/MMT ≈ Ce–Zr/MMT > Pr–Zr/MMT. X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiment revealed that the basal spacing of MMT enhanced from 0.97 nm to 1.73 nm after Zr-pillared treatment. After doping of Ce, La and Pr, the interlayer spacing increased to 1.94, 2.02 and 1.85 nm on Ce–Zr/MMT, La–Zr/MMT and Pr–Zr/MMT support. N2 adsorption–desorption method and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) helped to understand the catalytic performance of these palladium supported and rare earth oxides doped MMT catalysts.

Ce0.7Zr0.3Ba0.1O2.1 mixed oxides (denoted as CZB) were prepared using macromolecule surface modified methods and used as supports to prepare low palladium content of PdO/CZB model catalysts. CuO/CZB series of catalysts were also prepared for comparison. The catalytic activity of the PdOCZB and CuO/CZB series of catalysts for low-temperature CO oxidation was investigated. A significant influence of the Ce0.7Zr0.3Ba0.1O2.1 support on the catalytic performance has been found. Using Ce0.7Zr0.3Ba0.1O2.1 as catalyst support increased the activity of CO oxidation and promoted the thermal stability significantly. It was found that the transition metal supported catalyst of 10.0 wt % CuO/CZB obtained a good result, as did the precious metal supported catalysts of 0.75 wt % PdO/CZB. The catalytic behaviors and thermal stability of PdO/CZB and CuO/CZB catalysts greatly depended on the support effect. The nature of Ce0.7Zr0.3Ba0.1O2.1 support was also characterized by surface area (BET method), x-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), temperature programmed reduction with hydrogen (H2-TPR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technologies.