Catalytic synthesis of renewable hydrocarbons via hydrodeoxygenation of angelica lactone di/trimers

Angelica lactone and its di/trimers is becoming an important renewable platform molecule but the development of simple hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) catalysts will play a major role in its utilization as feedstock for fuel production. In this study, Ni supported on ZSM-5 having Si/Al ratio of 40 and 300 or Ni supported on heteropoly acid/activated carbon (Ni/Ac-HPA) were synthesized and their HDO activities on angelica lactone di/trimers resulted in the production of gasoline ranged (C6-C15) hydrocarbon fuels. The HDO activities of the catalysts were dependent on the successful incorporation of Ni metals into the pores of the supports and the Ni metals were highly dispersed with average particle sizes of 20 nm. Considering recent advances in catalytic conversion of biomass to liquid fuels, the method provided in this study is simple and could be replicated in an industrial scale.