Preparation and characterization of Ni based on natural zeolite catalyst for citronellol conversion to 3,7-Dimethyl-1-Octanol

Citronella oil is a kind of essential oil that contains three main components, namely citronellal, citronellol, and geraniol. The high demand of citronellal and geraniol derivative prompted scientists to develop methods which are stereo-selective synthesis. A hydrogenation reaction using heterogeneous catalyst is one way of synthesis of citronella oil derivatives. In this research, synthesis of citronellol oil derivatives using Ni based on natural zeolite (Ni/ZAB) catalyst which is expected to produce the compound of 3,7-dimethyl-1-octanol. The catalyst was prepared by supporting Ni on natural zeolite by impregnation method. The physical and chemical properties of Ni/ZAB catalyst have been characterized by TGA, BET, XRD and FTIR instrumentations. Variation of pressure and temperature reactions were conducted to determine the optimum conditions for the hydrogenation of citronellol. The products from this reaction were analyzed using GC-MS instrumentation. The yield and selectivity of 3,7-dimethyl-1-octanol compound were achieved with optimum conditions at 200°C and 20 bar during 3 hours which produced around 51.97% and 47.81% respectively.