Increased high selectivity light aromatics and furans production by co-feeding methanol to catalytic pyrolysis of cellulose with Lanthanum–Cerium bimetallic modified MCM-41 catalysts

To develop a cost-effective La-based catalyst for conversion waste biomass into high valuable chemicals, bimetallic La–Ce modified MCM-41 catalysts with different La to Ce ratios were prepared by wet impregnation method, and successfully applied to catalytic pyrolysis of cellulose with methanol as hydrogen-donor. The synergistic effect, conversion pathway for promotion of furans and aromatic and deactivation mechanism were also evaluated in co-conversion process with different technologies. Results showed that, modified MCM-41 maintained mesoporous structure, and combination La, Ce-modified MCM-41 catalysts showed the best catalytic activity due to synergistic interaction of La–O species and Ce–O species with support as well as suitable mild strong acidity. Higher La content had remarkable advantage for advancing HCs and olefin content due to higher Brønsted acid intensity, and higher Ce content was facilitated to aromatic and furans conversion due to higher mesoporous volume. 1La–3Ce/MCM-41 demonstrated the most potential for furan formation (50.18%) and 1La–1Ce/MCM-41 exhibited best deoxygenation activity and obtained more than 61.16% HCs content and 35.15% MAHs selectivity via Diels-Alder reaction assist with acid centers and metal dispersion, furthermore, 1La–1Ce/MCM-41exhibited outstanding reusability and anti-coking performance, nearly 95% yield of HCs were still maintained after regeneration. Hence, catalytic pyrolysis vapor upgrading of waste biomass with La–Ce/MCM-41 had great potential to produce valuable fuels and chemical.