Aldol condensation/hydrogenation for jet fuel from biomass-derived ketone platform compound in one pot

Abstract A one-pot method for jet fuel based on biomass-derived ketone platform compound has been developed through aldol condensation and hydrogenation over bifunctional catalysts. In this study, the problem of poor reusability of catalysts and the side reaction of hydrogenation could be solved effectively. Organic solvents were added into the reaction to reduce the contact between the catalysts and water. In the reusability tests, the yield of targeted hydrocarbons remained around 70% in 5 runs with the optimized cyclopentanone/n-pentane volume ratio of 1:2. With the hydrogen being introduced first, the condensation and hydrogenation were integrated into one step. Considering that part of cyclopentanone was hydrogenated directly, a method of low-temperature condensation (170 °C) and high-temperature hydrogenation (260 °C) was proposed. The temperature at each stage of the reaction was controlled strictly and the total yield of targeted alkanes was boosted by 6.3% compared with that in one-step method. By the design of the reaction process with bifunctional catalyst in one pot, it will promote the development of aviation fuel from biomass in a more sustainable and greener way.