With the increasing oil price and social concern about environmental problems (such as CO₂ and SO₂ emissions from the utilization of fossil energy), the production of fuels from renewable lignocellulosic biomass is of great significance. Recently, the research group leaded by Prof. Tao Zhang made an important progress in synthesis of high-quality diesel or jet fuel from biomass-derived oxygenated hydrocarbons. The research results were published on-line in ChemSusChem.

(http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201200228)。

Hydroxyalkylation–alkylation (HAA) coupled with hydrodeoxygenation is a promising route for the synthesis of renewable high-quality diesel or jet fuel. In this work, a series of solid-acid catalysts were firstly used for HAA between lignocellulose-derived furan and carbonyl compounds. Among the investigated catalysts, Nafion-212 resin demonstrated the highest activity and stability. Owing to the high activity of the reactants and the advantage in industrial integration, the HAA of 2-methyl-furan (2-MF) and furfural can be considered as a prospective route in future applications. Catalyst loading, reaction temperature, and time had evident effects on the HAA of 2-MF and furfural over Nafion-212 resin. Finally, the HAA product of 2-MF and furfural was hydrogenated over a Pd/C catalyst and hydrodeoxygenated over Pt-loaded solid-acid catalysts. Pt/zirconium phosphate (Pt/ZrP) was found to be the best catalyst for hydrodeoxygenation. Over the 4% Pt/ZrP catalyst, a 94% carbon yield of diesel and 75% carbon yield of C15 hydrocarbons (with 6-butylundecane as the major component) was achieved.

With an impact factor of 6.827 (2011), ChemSusChem is a top interdisciplinary journal for research at the interface of chemistry and sustainability. The journal features the best research on sustainability and energy by publishing contributions from chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, and biotechnology.