Study on the catalytic hydrogenation of methyl levulinate over Ru/organic modified vermiculite

Organic-pillared vermiculite supported Ru (Ru/OV) was prepared via adsorption-precipitation method, using RuCl₃·xH₂O as precursor and applied to catalytic hydrogenation of methyl levulinate (ML). The physicochemical properties of the catalysts were investigated by XRD, N₂-adsorption-desorption, TEM and XPS. Effects of reaction temperature, pressure, reaction time on the catalytic performance were studied by orthogonal and single factor experiments. Under the optimum conditions, the conversion of ML and the selectivity of γ-valerolactone (GVL) were 84% and 100%, separately. After being recycled for 20 times, the conversion of ML was above 80% and the 100% selectivity of GVL could be obtained.