Hydrodeoxygenation of angelica lactone dimers and trimers over silica-alumina supported nickel catalyst

Fractionation of biomass to furan derivatives followed by hydrodeoxygenation could provide an efficient route for bioalkanes production. A simple catalytic process to obtain fuels rich in alkanes with 8-12 carbons via hydrodeoxygenation of biomass-derived angelica lactone dimers/trimers was investigated. Dimers and trimers obtained by C-C coupling of α- and β-angelica lactones were hydrodeoxygenated over a bifunctional catalyst, nickel supported on silica-alumina (Ni/SiO2-Al2O3). Reaction conditions such as hydrogen pressure, temperature and time were considered and it was observed that changes in reaction conditions had significant effect on product distributions. Effective conversion of di/trimers of angelica lactone was achieved over Ni/SiO2-Al2O3 with highly branched alkanes and aromatics being selectively produced. The hydrogenated products which are similar in composition to fossil-derived gasoline could further encourage research into more efficient processes to produce bioalkanes on an industrial scale.