The development of sustainable and efficient catalysts -namely Ru supported on activated biochars- is carried out for the selective hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 1- hydroxy-2,5-hexanedione (HHD). Activated biochars obtained from pyrolysis and steam-based physical activation of two different biomasses from animal (leather tannery waste; ALw) and vegetal (hazelnut shells; AHSw) origins show completely different chemical, textural, and morphological properties. Compared to ALw, after impregnation with 0.5 wt% Ru, AHSw, with inner micro-mesochannels and cavities and higher layer stacking disorder, leads to better trapping and anchoring of Ru nanoparticles on the catalyst and a suitable Ru single crystal dispersion. This leads to a highly active Ru/AHSw catalyst in the proposed reaction, giving more than 80% selectivity to HHD and full HMF conversion at 100°C with 30 bar H2 for 3 h. Ru/ AHSw also shows promising performance compared to a commercial Ru/C catalyst.
