Synthesis, characterization, modeling and catalytic testing of tungstated zirconia supported Ni catalysts for Hydrodeoxygenation of Guaiacol

Tungstated zirconia supported Ni catalysts with different Ni contents (3 to 20 of % w/w) were synthesized at mild conditions in a stirred pressure reactor. We reported multi-objective optimization (MOO) of tungstated zirconia preparation in terms of Bronsted acid site density and surface area for the first time in the open literature. Optimization of nickel content was also performed in terms of HDO activity and selectivity. Obtained MOO results showed that optimum nickel content was 15% in terms of selectivity and activity. Predicted response results were in good agreement with the experimental response results. The catalytic performance of the catalyst samples was tested on the HDO reaction of guaiacol. Additionally, an HDO mechanism for Ni-doped WOxZrO2 catalyzed guaiacol conversion was proposed. High activity and selectivity rates were achieved during the experiments and cyclohexane was obtained as a main product in the presence of more than 10% of Ni-doped tungstated zirconia catalyst.