Hydrodeoxygenation


Hydrodeoxygenation is a hydrogenolysis process for removing oxygen from oxygen containing compounds. Typical HDO catalysts commonly are sulfided nickel-molybdenum or cobalt-molybdenum on gamma alumina. An idealized reaction is:
The first review on HDO was published in 1983. HDO is of interest in producing biofuels, which are derived from oxygen-rich precursors like sugars or lipids. An example of a biomass refining process employing hydrodeoxygenation is the NEXBTL process.
HDO of biomass fast pyrolysis vapors under low hydrogen pressures have recently attracted a lot of attention. Bulk molybdenum trioxide was used as catalyst and found to completely deoxygenate cellulose, corn stover, and lignin pyrolysis vapors and produce a stream of hydrocarbons including aromatics, alkenes, and alkanes. From an economic viewpoint, only aromatics and alkenes should ideally be produced to enable product incorporation into the existing infrastructure.