Hydrogenolysis of Cellulose into Polyols over in situ Reduced Nickel-Promoted Tungsten Carbides

Cellulose can be used as feedstock for the production of fuels and platform chemicals. The hydrogenolysis of cellulose with nickel-promoted carbide catalysts supported on different materials yields ethylene glycol as the main product (selectivity 50 %). The other polyols such as propylene glycol or sorbitol were also identified.