High-yield production of 2,5-dimethylfuran from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural over carbon supported Ni–Co bimetallic catalyst

The catalytic conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) has attracted extensive research interests because DMF can be used as potential and competitive renewable transportation fuel or additives. Here we report a non-noble bimetallic catalyst with improved activity for hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis by introducing active carbon as support into a nickel–cobalt catalyst. The characterizations of the catalyst indicate that the Ni and Co species are uniformly dispersed on the active carbon through the wetness impregnation method. The influences of reaction temperature and hydrogen pressure are systematically investigated and an excellent yield (up to 95%) of DMF can be obtained at relatively mild conditions, 130 °C and 1 MPa H2, over the carbon supported Ni–Co bimetallic catalyst. The high catalytic activity originates from the synergistic effect between Ni and CoOx species, the high BET surface area of the catalyst, and the uniform dispersion of Ni and Co species on the active carbon. The catalyst could be reused for 5 times without loss of activity in a batch reactor. Futhermore, the conversion of HMF to DMF on a fixed-bed reactor was also investigated and the 2%Ni–20%Co/C catalyst exhibited an excellent yield to DMF (>90%) for 71 h time on stream, indicating the high activity and stability of the catalyst.