Synthesis of Ni-W catalysts supported on fruit peel waste-derived carbons for the efficient ethylene glycol production from cellulose

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2025-03-22

Authors

Lucília S. Ribeiro (Author) FEUP; Rafael G. Morais (Author) Other; A.C. Damas (Author) Other; José J. Melo Órfão (Author) FEUP; Manuel Fernando R. Pereira (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Cellulose

Pages: 3633-3649

ISSN: 0969-0239

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 0 Citations

Associated Projects

LA LSRE-LCM - Financiamento Plurianual 2020-2023 para a Unidade LA LSRE-LCM Laboratório de Processos de Separação e Reacção - Laboratório de Catálise e Materiais

ALiCE - ALiCE - Laboratório Associado em Engenharia Química

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-018-GCC

DOI: 10.1007/s10570-025-06464-4

Abstract (EN): Fruit peel waste-derived carbons synthesized from orange and banana peels by hydrothermal carbonization were employed as supports in the preparation of nickel-tungsten heterogeneous catalysts. These bimetallic catalysts were fully characterized by several techniques and evaluated for the direct conversion of cellulose into ethylene glycol (EG) in aqueous medium. The catalysts showed noteworthy activity in cellulose conversion (100%), resulting in an impressive EG yield of up to 50% over the glucose-derived carbon supported Ni-W catalyst. Furthermore, notable EG yields of around 35 and 45% were reached over orange and banana peel-derived carbon supported catalysts, respectively. The best performing catalyst was further tested in four reusability experiments, displaying excellent stability. The results obtained here are amongst the best ever reported for the one-pot cellulose conversion to EG over carbon-supported catalysts. These findings suggest that fruit peel, namely banana peel, holds great potential as a catalytic support, thus presenting a viable alternative for waste valorization in lignocellulosic biorefining. Graphical abstractNi-W catalysts supported on fruit peel waste-based materials were efficient for the sustainable production of ethylene glycol from cellulose.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 17