Magnetically Recoverable Ruthenium-Containing Catalysts for Polysaccharide Conversion

Abstract

A new Ru-containing catalyst based on Fe₃O₄–SiO₂ particles that exhibit magnetic properties is proposed for the hydrogenolysis of cellulose to glycols and the hydrolytic hydrogenation of inulin to mannitol. The effect of process parameters on the selectivity toward the main products is studied. Under optimum conditions of cellulose hydrogenolysis, the total glycol selectivity is ≈40% (ethylene glycol, 19.1%; propylene glycol, 20.9%) at 100% cellulose conversion. In the hydrolytic hydrogenation of inulin, the maximum mannitol selectivity is 44.3% at a 100% conversion of the feed polysaccharide. The proposed catalyst is stable under hydrothermal process conditions, and can be easily separated from the reaction mass using an external magnetic field.