Catalytic production of liquid hydrocarbon fuels and fuel additives from lignocellulosic platform molecules

Development and utilization of renewable biomass resources has great significance in easing the energy crisis and reducing environmental pollution. Lignocellulosic biomass is much more concerned due to its abundant reserves, lower cost and fast-growing. In this work some relevant processes for the preparation of liquid hydrocarbon fuels and fuel additives from lignocellulosic platform molecules are discussed and summarized. Catalytic transformation of these platform molecules for the production of liquid hydrocarbon fuels can be obtained by combining oxygen removal processes (e.g. dehydration, hydrogenation, hydrogenolysis, decarbonylation) with the increase of molecular weight via C-C coupling reactions (e.g. aldol condensation, hydroxyalkylation, ketonization, oligomerization). Moreover, it is shown that these platform molecules can also be converted into a variety of fuel additives through catalytic transformations that include reduction, esterification, etherification, and acetalization reactions. The catalysts and processes involved in these catalytic routes are intensively discussed, and their existing problems as well as possible solutions are addressed, which may provide insights helpful for further studies on the valorization of lignocellulose for energy.