Liquid fuel production by aqueous phase catalytic transformation of biomass for aviation

The commercial jet fuels usually contain about 40% aromatics and naphthene. However, conventional technologies on bio-jet fuels production by hydrodeoxygenation of plant oil and biomass gasification/Fischer-Tropsch synthesis can't produce renewable aromatics. In this paper, the liquid fuels with high aromatics content were produced by aqueous phase catalytic conversion of biomass sugar/polyol over Ni@HZSM-5/MCM-41 catalysts. Liquid fuel yield of 32 wt% with aromatics content of 84.3% was obtained under the conditions of 300 degrees C, WHSV of 1.25 h(-1), GHSV of 2500 h(-1) and 4.0 MPa of hydrogen pressure with mixed polyol (60% sorbitol + 40% xylitol) as feedstocks. The produced bio-aromatics are substituted benzenes, naphthalenes, and aromatic olefins, which is a wonderful crude oil to be used as jet fuels after it was hydrogenated to improve quality (deep deoxygenation/chemical bond saturation). (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.