A novel biotar-derived porous carbon supported Ru catalyst for hydrogen production from supercritical water gasification of glycerol

A novel Ru/BPC catalysts were prepared by impregnating Ru metal into porous carbon derived from waste bio-tar as a carrier matrix activated by KOH. The results of the catalytic supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of glycerol showed a carbon gasification efficiency (CGE) of 64.1% and a H₂ yield of 20.9 mmol·g⁻¹at 425 °C and 25 MPa for 20 min due to the synergistic effect of Ru and active alkali metals present in the Ru/BPC material. In the catalyst cycling experiments, the exposure of the active site in the catalyst further increased the catalytic activity, the H₂ yield increased from 21.0 mmol g⁻¹ to 40.8 mmol g⁻¹ with 82.1% CGE. Catalyst characterization indicates that the rich pore structure and the number of unsaturated carbon atoms of BPC enhanced the adsorption of Ru metal. This study provides new ideas for waste biomass resource utilization and cheap catalyst preparation for hydrothermal gasification process.