05. Harjoitustyöt ja kurssitutkielmat / Coursework and Term papers, Final projects

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Yliopistossa suoritettujen opintojen harjoitus- ja lopputöitä / Coursework, term papers and final projects completed at the university

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Hydrotreatment of furfural to 2-methylfuran with carbon catalysts
(2015-06-11) Castellazzi, Sara; Jaatinen, Salla; Karinen, Reetta; Kemian tekniikan korkeakoulu; Lehtonen, Juha
2-methylfuran (2-MF) production through liquid-phase catalytic hydrogenation of furfural using 2-propanol as solvent was investigated over carbon-supported catalysts in a batch reactor. Acceptable values of 2-MF yields and selectivity were achieved using impregnated catalysts supported over activated carbon Norit® RB4C. The best results were observed using 2%/2% CuFe catalysts after 5 hours reaction time at 230°C: 42.75% yield and 42.82% selectivity. Nevertheless, with some nickel-based catalysts, such as 2% and 10% Ni, almost 33% and 41% yields of 2-MF were achieved, respectively. An important outcome was that copper catalysts, historically the best catalysts suitable for 2-MF production, showed better results when used in combination with other metals, such as Fe or Ni. Moreover, it is advisable to reduce Cu at lower temperature ( 200°C) in order to improve catalytic performances. Other types of support (i.e. acid-washed Norit® RX3) and preparation techniques (i.e. atomic layer deposition) were tested showing poor results.