Synthesis of diesel range alkanes with 2-methylfuran and mesityl oxide from lignocellulose

• Solid acids were firstly used for the alkylation of 2-MF with mesityl oxide.
• Nafion-212 resin exhibited the best performance among the investigated catalysts.
• The high efficiency of Nafin-212 resin can be explained by its strong acidity.
• Ni–Mo2C/SiO2 was used for the first time in the HDO of biomass derived oxygenates.
• Higher yield of diesel range alkanes was obtained by the HDO over Ni–Mo2C/SiO2.

For the first time, the alkylation of 2-methylfuran with mesityl oxide was carried out over a series of solid acid catalysts. Among the investigated candidates, Nafion-212 resin exhibited the highest catalytic efficiency and good stability, which can be rationalized by the higher acid strength of this catalyst. The hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of the alkylation products of 2-methylfuran with mesityl oxide was also studied. Ni–Mo2C/SiO2 and Ni–W2C/SiO2 were firstly used for the HDO of biomass derived oxygenates and demonstrated excellent catalytic performance for the conversion of the alkylation products to alkanes. Compared with Ni–W2C/SiO2, Ni–Mo2C/SiO2 exhibited higher selectivity to diesel range alkanes. Over the Ni–Mo2C/SiO2 catalyst, high carbon yield of diesel range alkanes (77%) could be achieved by the HDO of the alkylation products of 2-methylfuran and mesityl oxide at 573 K and 6.0 MPa H2. This value is evidently higher than those obtained over noble metal catalysts and Ni–WxC/AC under the same reaction conditions.

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