Tailoring of activity and selectivity using bimetallic catalyst in hydrogenation of succinic acid

Abstract The liquid phase hydrogenation of succinic acid (SA) to γ-butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO) was investigated using ruthenium–cobalt bimetallic catalysts in a semi-batch slurry reactor. The doping of ruthenium (up to 1%) with cobalt resulted in increase (3–4 times) in the overall hydrogenation activity indicating a strong synergistic effect. Ru–Co bimetallic catalyst also influenced the product distribution by promoting specific hydrogenation steps in the overall reaction scheme. Based on the observed catalyst activity results, a speculative reaction pathway for cobalt as well as for ruthenium–cobalt catalyzed hydrogenation of succinic acid has been proposed.