Low-temperature hydrogenation of maleic anhydride to succinic anhydride and γ-butyrolactone over pseudo-boehmite derived alumina supported metal (metal=Cu, Co and Ni) catalysts

The pseudo-boehmite derived alumina supported metal (Cu, Co and Ni) catalysts prepared by the impregnation method were investigated in hydrogenation of maleic anhydride (MA) to succinic anhydride (SA) and γ-butyrolactone. The catalysts were characterized by ICP-AES, N2 adsorption–desorption, XRD, H2-TPR, CO-TPD, dissociative N2O adsorption and TEM and the results showed that the alumina possessed mesoporous feature and the metal species were well dispersed on the support. Compared to Cu/Al2O3 and Co/Al2O3, Ni/Al2O3 exhibited higher catalytic activity in the MA hydrogenation with 92% selectivity to SA and nearly 100% conversion of MA at 140 °C under 0.5 MPa of H2 with a weighted hourly space velocity of 2 h−1 (MA). The stability of Ni/Al2O3 catalyst was also investigated.