Liquid Alkanes with Targeted Molecular Weights from Biomass‐Derived Carbohydrates

Abstract

Liquid transportation fuels must burn cleanly and have high energy densities, criteria that are currently fulfilled by petroleum, a non-renewable resource, the combustion of which leads to increasing levels of atmospheric CO₂. An attractive approach for the production of transportation fuels from renewable biomass resources is to convert carbohydrates into alkanes with targeted molecular weights, such as C₈–C₁₅ for jet-fuel applications. Targeted n-alkanes can be produced directly from fructose by an integrated process involving first the dehydration of this C₆ sugar to form 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, followed by controlled formation of CC bonds with acetone to form C₉ and C₁₅ compounds, and completed by hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation reactions to form the corresponding n-alkanes. Analogous reactions are demonstrated starting with 5-methylfurfural or 2-furaldehyde, with the latter leading to C₈ and C₁₃ n-alkanes.