The selective production of hydrogen by the decomposition of formic acid produced from biomass

Cellulose-containing biomass is an abundant raw material, which can be derived from renewable sources ranging from forest residues and energy crops to waste paper and sewage sludge. The cellulose of such materials can readily and economically be converted into a mixture of levulinic and formic acids using the recently developed Biofine Process. Production of hydrogen from this formic acid using a range of bimetallic palladium catalysts was studied. Formic acid could be decomposed selectively over these catalysts at ≥ 230°C. The selectivity for hydrogen production (dehydrogenation) decreased with increasing temperature for all the catalysts examined. The addition of a second metal to the palladium supported on alumina was beneficial to both the selectivity and activity. The addition of silver and platinum to the palladium proved to be most beneficial, increasing the activity, selectivity, and durability of the catalysts. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 231st ACS National Meeting (Atlanta, GA 3/26-30/2006).