LAUSR

Abstract An alumina supported molybdenum nitride catalyst (Mo 2 N/Al 2 O 3 ) is examined for the ethanolysis of Kraft lignin in supercritical ethanol in a batch reactor with an initial nitrogen pressure of 0 MPa (gauge). No char or tar is formed in this process. The Mo loading as well as the nitriding temperature in the catalyst preparation process has a great influence on the activity. The best performance is obtained over 30 wt% Mo 2 N/Al 2 O 3 catalyst nitrided at 700 °C. The overall yields of sulfur-free small-molecular products achieve the maximum value of 1189 mg/g lignin, with aliphatic compounds accounting for 907 mg/g lignin and aromatic compounds 282 mg/g lignin, respectively. Both the product yields and the molecular distribution are also strongly dependent on the reaction time and temperature. Furthermore, the Mo 2 N/Al 2 O 3 catalyst exhibits an excellent recycle performance with no significant activity loss after at least three runs. After reaction, the bulk structure of Mo 2 N/Al 2 O 3 catalyst was well-preserved only with a slight surface oxidation.