A research team led by Prof. ZHANG Tao and Prof. LI Ning from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences synthesized JP-10 fuel with lignocellulosic platform compound, furfuryl alcohol. Their findings were published in Angew. Chem. Int. Ed..

A new strategy was first reported for the synthesis of bio-JP-10 fuel with furfuryl alcohol which has been produced in industrial scale with agricultural and forestry residues. (Image by LI Guangyi Li and LI Ning)

The synthesis of renewable jet fuel with lignocellulosic platform components has drawn a lot of attentions in recent years. So far, most of reported work was concentrated on the production of conventional jet fuels.

JP-10 is an advanced jet fuel which is obtained from fossil energy nowadays. However, the high price and low availability limit its application in civil aviation.

The scientists reported a new strategy for the synthesis of bio-JP-10 fuel with furfuryl alcohol, which has been produced in industrial scale with agricultural and forestry residues. Under the optimized conditions, high overall carbon yields (~65%) of bio-JP-10 fuel were achieved.

A preliminary economic analysis indicated that the price of bio-JP-10 fuel could be greatly decreased from ~7,091 US$/ton (by fossil route) to less than 5,600 US$/ton using this new strategy. The unit production costs for bio-JP-10 fuel could be decreased to less than 2,900 US$/ton when the price of furfuryl alcohol decreased to 400 US$/ton with the advancement of technology in the future.

Their findings bring practical application of bio-JP-10 fuel in sight.

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the National Key Projects for Fundamental Research and Development of China, DNL Cooperation Fund, CAS, Dalian Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars. This is one of papers that dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. (Text by LI Guangyi Li and LI Ning).