Production of liquid fuel intermediates from furfural via aldol condensation over potassium-promoted Sn-MFI catalyst

Liquid fuel intermediates can be produced via aldol condensation reactions between furfural and acetone. It was found that potassium-promoted Lewis acid zeolite Sn-MFI performed superior catalytic performance for C-C bond coupling by aldol condensation reactions of furfural with acetone. The presence of K in Sn-MFI catalyst improves the catalytic activity of the catalyst likely due to increased basicity. The product distribution of aldol condensation was also changed remarkably with the addition of K. Besides 4-(2-furyl)-3-buten-2-one (FAc), 1, 5-di-2-furanyl-1, 4-pentadien-3-one (F-2 Ac) was also formed in the existence of K compared with pure Sn-MFI. It was also found that the K-promoted Sn-MFI catalyst is more resistant to water and exhibits enhanced selectivity to F2Ac.