Effects of trace contaminants on catalytic processing of biomass-derived feedstocks

Model compound testing was conducted in a batch reactor to evaluate the effects of trace contaminant components on catalytic hydrogenation of sugars. Trace components are potential catalyst poisons when processing biomass feedstocks to value-added chemical products. Trace components include inorganic elements such as alkali metals and alkaline earths, phosphorus, sulfur, aluminum, silicon, chloride, or transition metals. Protein components in biomass feedstocks can lead to formation of peptide fractions (from hydrolysis) or ammonium ions (from more severe breakdown), both of which might interfere with catalysis. The batch reactor tests were performed in a 300-mL stirred autoclave, with multiple liquid samples withdrawn over the period of the experiment. Evaluation of these test results suggests that most of the catalyst inhibition is related to nitrogen-containing components.