Synthesis of Renewable Lubricant Alkanes from Biomass-Derived Platform Chemicals

The catalytic synthesis of liquid alkanes from renewable biomass has received tremendous attention in recent years. However, bio-based platform chemicals have not to date been exploited for the synthesis of highly branched lubricant alkanes, which are currently produced by hydrocracking and hydroisomerization of long-chain n-paraffins. A selective catalytic synthetic route has been developed for the production of highly branched C-23 alkanes as lubricant base oil components from biomass-derived furfural and acetone through a sequential four-step process, including aldol condensation of furfural with acetone to produce a C-13 double adduct, selective hydrogenation of the adduct to a C-13 ketone, followed by a second condensation of the C-13 ketone with furfural to generate a C-23 aldol adduct, and finally hydrodeoxygenation to give highly branched C-23 alkanes in 50.6% overall yield from furfural. This work opens a general strategy for the synthesis of high-quality lubricant alkanes from renewable biomass.