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The work described in this thesis focuses on the cleavage of the β-O-4′ bond, which is the most abundant interunit linkage in the lignin polymer. In the first part, three methods based on palladium catalysis have been developed and their applicability has been verified using lignin model compounds. A transfer hydrogenolysis of the β-O-4′ bond using formic acid as a mild hydrogen donor together with a base. An aerobic oxidation of the benzylic alcohol motif in the β-O-4′ linkage to generate a key intermediate in the cleavage reaction was performed. A redox neutral cleavage of the β-O-4′ bond was accomplished in which no stoichiometric reducing or oxidizing agents were added. In the second part of the thesis, a mechanistic study is presented. The corresponding ketone from a dehydrogenation reaction of the benzylic alcohol motif was identified to be the key intermediate. This ketone and its enol tautomer was found to be responsible for the β-O-4′ bond cleavage reaction under the employed reaction conditions. In the final part of this thesis, the methodologies have been applied to native lignin. The depolymerization reaction was combined with organosolv pulping. This approach was successful, and together with cellulose and hemicellulose, propenyl aryls were generated in excellent yields directly from wood. In this transformation, the lignin derived molecules have been reduced by an endogenous hydrogen donor from the wood.

Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul / This work has as goal to evaluate the use of heterogeneous catalysts on interesterification reaction for glycerol-free biodiesel production. Interesterification is a reaction between the triglyceride ester from vegetable oil and a short-chain ester, like methyl acetate. This technique has advantages over conventional transesterification like elimination of product washing and purification steps, less effluent production, catalyst reusing possibility and coproduction of biofuel additive, named triacetin.. Firstly, performance tests of solid catalysts commonly used for transesterification reaction were carried out. Among them, the hydrotalcite-like compound Ca 40%-Mg-Al presented the best results, reaching a global yield (esters + triacetin) of 91.83% at equilibrium, at 250°C, methyl acetate/oil molar ratio of 32:1 and 4.7% wt. catalyst/reactants concentration. Next, in order to investigate the effects of temperature, methyl acetate to oil molar ratio and catalyst concentration over reaction yield, an experimental planning and kinetics tests were performed. At 350°C, signs of thermal degradation were observed, affecting negatively the product yields. Besides, it was noted that dilution and cage-effect can occur depending on the methyl acetate to oil molar ratio applied.In respect of the catalyst, it was observed that saturation occurs at concentration of 5% wt. catalyst/oil. The condition of 325°C, 40:1 methyl acetate/oil molar ratio and 5% wt. catalyst/oil was chosen as the more adequate, reaching in 1.33 h a global yield of 68.5%. At those conditions, the catalyst can be reused, without any treatment, at least for three reaction cycles. / Este trabalho teve como objetivo investigar o emprego de catalisadores heterogêneos na reação de interesterificação para produção de biodiesel sem glicerol. A interesterificação é uma reação entre o éster triglicerídeo do óleo vegetal e outro éster de cadeia curta, como metil acetato. A técnica tem vantagens à transesterificação clássica como eliminação de etapas de lavagem e purificação de produtos, menor produção de efluentes, possibilidade de recuperação do catalisador e a coprodução de um aditivo ao biocombustível chamado triacetina. Primeiramente, fez-se um teste de desempenho de alguns catalisadores sólidos bastante utilizados em reações de transesterificação. Dentre eles, o composto tipo hidrotalcita Ca 40%-Mg-Al apresentou melhores resultados, atingindo rendimento global (ésteres + triacetina) de 91.83% no equilíbrio a 250°C, razão molar metil acetato/óleo de soja 32:1 e concentração de 4.7% m/m de catalisador/reagentes. A seguir, a fim de investigar o efeito da temperatura, razão molar de metil acetato e concentração de catalisador sobre o rendimento da reação, realizaram-se um planejamento experimental e experimentos cinéticos de reação. Para temperatura de 350°C, foram observados indícios de degradação térmica dos produtos, afetando negativamente os rendimentos de reação. Além disso, notou-se que ocorrem efeitos de diluição ou solvatação, dependendo das razões molares metil acetato/óleo usadas. Em relação ao catalisador, observou-se que a saturação ocorre para concentração de 5% m/m catalisador/óleo. A condição mais adequada de reação foi 325°C, razão molar 40:1 e 5% m/m catalisador/óleo, onde atinge-se um rendimento global de 68.55% em 1.33h. Nessas condições, por fim, também foi investigada a estabilidade do catalisador. Descobriu-se que o mesmo catalisador, sem tratamento algum, pode ser utilizado por pelo menos 3 ciclos de reação sem perda expressiva da atividade catalítica.

Heterogeneous catalysis is a key industrial process involved in the synthesis of nearly all chemicals currently produced. The environmental impact of these processes is huge so improvements must be made to current catalysts. Should a new material provide better yields at lower energy cost the benefits to both the industry and the planet are significant. There are many ways to change the behaviour of a catalyst, the addition of dopants, the selective blocking of active sites, and changing the strength of the support interaction to name a few. One technique that has become increasingly investigated is interstitial modification, the insertion of a light element into a metal lattice to change the metal's catalytic properties. The work presented in this thesis devises greener synthetic routes to the known Pd-^interstitialB/C catalyst and investigates potential routes to a novel interstitial material, Pd-^interstitialLi/C. Initially, successful verification of interstitial modification comes from the characteristic increase in palladium lattice parameter from 3.89 to 4.00 Å and the blocking of the β-hydride formation. Initial catalytic screening determines the synthetic route which yields the most active catalyst which subsequently undergoes thorough characterisation. The wealth of evidence generated confirms the interstitial location of lithium within the palladium lattice, as well as adding to the current understanding of the Pd-^interstitialB/C material. EELS analysis on Pd-^interstitialB is the closest to direct observation of boron within the palladium lattice to date. PDF on Pd-^interstitialLi shows 13.7 % of the palladium octahedral interstitial sites are occupied by lithium. This is the first report of interstitial lithium within palladium to date. The effect of the interstitial modification on catalytic hydrogenation by two elements that have opposite effects on the surface electronics of the host palladium gives intriguing results. The effect on catalysis varies depending on the conditions investigated. This bank of hydrogenation data allows an informed choice as to which interstitial material would be best suited to the gas or liquid phase catalytic hydrogenation under investigation.

Cette étude a pour objectif l'étude des processus impliqués dans la production de l'acrylate de 2-éthylhexyle, ester gras dérivé de l'acide acrylique. Cette réaction est accélérée par l'emploi d'un catalyseur solide, une résine acide sulfonée. Les interactions spécifiques des différents composés avec cette résine ont été étudiées à température ambiante. A 90°C, le couplage avec la cinétique de réaction a été analysé et modélisé en réacteur fermé. Un montage pilote spécifique conçu au laboratoire a permis la réalisation de réactions dans un réacteur en lit fixe, dont la structure tripartite permet le suivi des concentrations liquides dans le montage. Une modélisation représentant cette installation a été mise au point, associant l'affinité sélective, la cinétique de réaction et l'hydrodynamique de l'écoulement. Ce modèle a ensuite été utilisé pour l'analyse de modèles de tendances, pour déterminer des conditions de fonctionnement améliorés d'un procédé de taille industrielle / This study aims at analyzing and understanding the processes involved in the production of 2-ethylhexyl acrylate. This fatty ester is a derivative of acrylic acid. This reaction is accelerated by the use of a solid catalyst, a sulfonated resin acid. The specific interactions of compounds with this resin were studied at room temperature. At 90°C, the coupling of kinetics and selective affinity was analyzed and modeled in a closed reactor. A specific pilot installation was designed in laboratory. Esterification reactions were performed. in this fixed bed reactor. The tripartite structure allows the monitoring of liquid levels in all installation. A model representing this system was developed, involving selective affinity, kinetics and hydrodynamic. This model was then used to analyze trends models to determine improved operating conditions for an industrial size process

Le réchauffement climatique principalement dû aux émissions importantes de CO₂, gaz à effet de serre de référence, encourage les chercheurs à trouver des solutions pour lutter contre ce phénomène. Les techniques consistant à capter et stocker ou valoriser le CO₂ sont des solutions pertinentes, mais qui nécessitent d'avoir du CO₂ le plus pur possible. Parmi ces techniques, l'oxycombustion parait assez prometteuse pour produire du CO₂ en forte concentration. Toutefois, selon la nature du combustible et la pureté de l'oxygène, certains polluants peuvent apparaître tels que le CO et les NOx. Pour réaliser cette purification, la catalyse est un moyen efficace permettant de transformer simultanément le NO et le CO respectivement en N₂ et CO₂. L'objectif de cette étude est donc, de mettre au point des catalyseurs actifs pour la réduction des NOx en N₂ par le CO, dans un milieu oxydant et en présence d'eau. Deux types de catalyseurs ont été choisis : les métaux nobles (Pd, Pt, Rh) supportés et les oxydes de métaux de transition (Co, Cu, Al). Les résultats obtenus montrent que les catalyseurs à base de Pt sont plus performants et que leur activité catalytique augment pour les échantillons supportés sur un support neutre (SiO₂) ou réductible (TiO₂) que ce soit en présence ou en absence d'eau. Les oxydes mixtes de métaux de transition, obtenus par voie hydrotalcite, montre que la nature du cation bivalent joue un rôle important. Les oxydes mixtes Co-Cu ont montré une meilleure activité que les matériaux composés d'un seul de ces deux éléments. Cependant, l'ajout d'eau dans le flux réactionnel conduit à une baisse d'activité des catalyseurs contenant du Cu. / Global warming, mainly due to high CO₂ emissions, reference greenhouse gas, motivates researchers to find solutions to combat this phenomenon. The techniques of capturing and storing or reuse of CO₂ are revelant solutions, but which require a CO₂ as pure as possible. Among these techniques, oxyfuel combustion seems promising enough to produce CO₂ in high concentration. However, depending on the nature of the fuel and the oxygen purity, some pollutants may appear such as CO and NOx. To carry out this purification, catalysis is an effective means for simultaneously converting NO and CO respectively into N₂ and CO₂. The objective of this study is to develop active catalysts for NOx reduction in N₂ by CO, in oxidizing conditions and presence of water. Two types of catalysts were chosen : supported noble metals (Pd, Pt, Rh) and transition metal oxides (Co, Cu, Al). The results obtained show that the Pt-based catalysts were more efficient and that their catalytic activity increases for the samples supported on a neutral support (SiO₂) or reducible (TiO₂) whether in the presence or absence of water. The mixed oxides of transition metals, obtained by hydrotalcite, show that the nature of the bivalent cation plays an important role. Co-Cu mixed oxides showed better activity than materials composed of only one of these two elements. However, the addition of water to the reaction flow led to a decrease in activity of the Cu-containing catalysts.