Emerging trend in porous carbon as catalysts support for biofuel production

Abstract

The depletion of fossil fuels and increasing demand on renewable biofuels, particularly enhancing energy security through sustainable biomass sources in catalytic activities. Heterogeneous catalysts are pivotal in advancing sustainable biofuel production by enhancing yield and reducing costs. Metal oxides are widely used as catalysts due to their active sites, high thermal and chemical stability. However, unsupported metal oxides often result in low yield, requiring large amounts of catalyst and long reaction times to achieve high biofuel production. Thus, it has attracted attention toward sustainable porous carbon supports to resolve the shortcomings. The porous carbon is gaining prominence as a sustainable catalyst support due to its renewability, cost-effectiveness, abundance, versatile surface functionalities, tuneable porosity, high surface area, and improved accessibility for reactants. This review explores the roles of sustainable porous carbons, including biochar, activated carbon, graphene-based materials, and carbon nitride, showcasing their distinctive properties in specific catalytic reactions. It encompasses the characteristics of porous carbon supports, such as hierarchical micro-mesoporous structure, pore distribution, pore size, specific surface area, interaction with active metals, in assisting the catalytic active sites for macromolecules cracking, aromatization, deoxygenation, and so forth. Despite the promising advancements, several challenges remain, including the need for cost-effective synthesis methods and long-term stability of catalysts. Ultimately, maximizing the potential of porous carbon as catalysts support is essential for advancing research in biofuel production.