Synthesis of Nanoporous Material from Zeolite USY and Catalytic Application to Bio-Oil Conversion

Abstract

A highly ordered nanoporous aluminosilicate (MMZ(USY)) was synthesized using commercially available zeolite USY as the framework source and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the template. The aluminosilicate was characterized by XRD, N-2 adsorption, ICP-AES and TPD. The catalytic performance of the MMZ(USY) material in the conversion of bio-oil was compared with that of Al-MCM-41, which was synthesized using a direct sol-gel method. The highly accessible nanopores, hydrothermal stability and the intermediate acidic properties of MMZ(USY) correlated with the catalytic performance in the conversion of the bio-oil. The MMZ(USY) used in this study showed excellent activity, selectivity and stability for the production of desirable organic compounds, such as phenolics, with a high degree of deoxygenation.