A paper titled "Solvent-free synthesis of C9 and C10 branched alkanes with furfural and 3-pentanone from lignocellulose" delivered by Chen Fang was accepted by Catalysis Communications.

Aticle link：http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566736714004567#

In this work, jet fuel range branched alkanes were first synthesized under solvent-free conditions by the aldol condensation of furfural and 3-pentanone from lignocellulose followed by the one-step hydrodeoxygenation (HDO). Compared with the traditional furfural-acetone route, this route was conducted under solvent-free conditions. By the catalysis of cheap metal catalysts (CaO and Ni-Cu/SiO₂), C9 and C10 branched alkanes were obtained. These alkanes have low freezing points (174.1 K and 159.8 K) and can be blended into jet fuel without hydroisomerization.