Synthesis of jet fuel additive with cyclopentanone

Abstract A new route was developed for the synthesis of renewable decalin with cyclopentanone which can be derived from lignocellulose. It was found that 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydronaphthalene could be selectively produced by the hydrogenation/dehydration/rearrangement of [1,1′-bi(cyclopentylidene)]-2-one (i.e. the self-aldol condensation product of cyclopentanone) over a dual-bed catalyst system. Among the investigated catalysts, the Ru/C and Amberlyst-15 resin exhibited the highest activities for the hydrogenation of [1,1′-bi(cyclopentylidene)]-2-one to [1,1′-bi(cyclopentan)]-2-ol and the dehydration/rearrangement of [1,1′-bi(cyclopentan)]-2-ol to 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydronaphthalene, respectively. Using Ru/C and Amberlyst-15 resin as the first bed and the second bed catalysts, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydronaphthalene was directly produced in high carbon yield (83.7%) under mild conditions (393 K, 1 MPa). After being hydrogenated, the 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydronaphthalene was converted to decalin which can be used as additive to improve the thermal stability and volumetric heat value of jet fuel.