Liquid‐phase hydrogenation of Chinese white wax to advanced mixed alkanols over Ni‐Cu@ <scp>MgAlO</scp> catalyst

Abstract The Ni‐Cu@MgAlO catalyst was synthesized by a urea‐assisted pyrolysis co‐precipitation method. Structural characterizations, including N₂ adsorption‐desorption measurement, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope mapping (SEM‐mapping), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), confirmed the successful incorporation of Ni and Cu into the MgAlO framework. The catalyst exhibited good catalytic performance, which can be attributed to the synergistic effect of Ni‐Cu bimetallics, their uniform dispersion on the support, and the catalytic cycle between different valence states. This catalyst was employed to optimize the reaction conditions for the hydrogenation reduction of Chinese white wax. The experimental results indicated that the optimal reaction conditions were achieved at 140°C for 4.0 h, with 0.2 g of catalyst and 2.0 MPa of H 2 pressure. The resulting advanced mixed alkanols showed an acid value of 0.13 and a saponification value of 65.18. Additionally, plausible reaction pathways for the reduction process were proposed. The catalyst's inexpensive and good efficiency are of significant industrial importance, as it enables the conversion of Chinese white wax into advanced mixed alkyl alcohols.