Conversion of Biomass-Derived Furans into Hydrocarbon Fuels

One of the most studied chemical transformations of carbohydrates is their thermocatalytic dehydration to form furans. Cellulose-derived glucose is thereby converted into 5-hydroxymethylfurfuraldehyde (5-HMF), while the hemicellulose-derived pentoses (e.g., xylose, arabinose) form furfuraldehyde. Our objective is to identify new pathways to convert furfuryl alcohol into a mixture of aliphatic hydrocarbons that can be used as drop-in fuels for diesel (C10-20) and jet fuel (C9-16) blends. Furfuryl alcohol is produced commercially through hydrogenation of furfuraldehyde that is derived from hemicellulose-derived pentoses via acid-catalyzed dehydration. The steps that we are currently pursuing to convert furfuryl alcohol into hydrocarbons are 1) oligomerization of furfuryl alcohol to form dimers (C10) and trimers (C15), and 2) hydrotreatment of the dimers and trimers to produce a mixture of linear hydrocarbons with carbon chain lengths in the range of diesel and jet fuels. This presentation will discuss our progress in the development of this pathway.