CHAPTER 5:Catalysts for Biofuels Production

The chapter discusses the production of biofuels by catalytic technologies (i.e., transesterification of vegetable oils, hydrogenation of oils and conversion to liquid fuels), considering the global potential of raw materials, cost of technology and the main barriers for large-scale development of the market. The triglyceride-based feedstocks and biomass derivatives have been considered promising resources for production of advanced biofuels, namely, biodiesel, green diesel and biojet fuels. Bulky and supported solid acid/base catalysts have been extensively developed for the conversion of biomass derivatives into biodiesel and fuel additives. Among the series of deoxygenation reactions, hydrodeoxygenation is the major reaction in green diesel production when utilizing the group of metal sulfide catalysts with various doping elements. As for biojet fuels, composites of metal/metal sulfides with strong solid acids are a promising approach to catalyze hydroisomerization and cracking reactions of the straight-chain alkanes into branched ones with proper carbon atoms. The research, development, and engineering of novel heterogeneous catalysts could be a key factor for commercialization and strong establishment of the biorefinery and biofuel industries.