Production of Liquid Alkanes by Aqueous-Phase Processing of Biomass-Derived Carbohydrates

Liquid alkanes with the number of carbon atoms ranging from C7to C15were selectively produced from biomass-derived carbohydrates by acid-catalyzed dehydration, which was followed by aldol condensation over solid base catalysts to form large organic compounds. These molecules were then converted into...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2005-06, Vol.308 (5727), p.1446-1450
Main Authors: Huber, George W., Chheda, Juben N., Barrett, Christopher J., Dumesic, James A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetone - chemistry
Alkanes
Alkanes - chemical synthesis
Alkanes - chemistry
Analysis
Applied sciences
Aqueous solutions
Biofuels
Biomass
Biomass energy
Biomass production
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates - chemistry
Carbon
Catalysis
Catalysts
Chemical compounds
Condensation
Energy
Energy Conservation
Energy-Generating Resources
Exact sciences and technology
Feasibility Studies
Fuels
Furaldehyde - chemistry
Hydrogenation
Liquid fuels
Liquids
Molecules
Natural energy
Organic Chemistry
Production processes
Reactants
Scientific Concepts
Water
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Summary:Liquid alkanes with the number of carbon atoms ranging from C7to C15were selectively produced from biomass-derived carbohydrates by acid-catalyzed dehydration, which was followed by aldol condensation over solid base catalysts to form large organic compounds. These molecules were then converted into alkanes by dehydration/hydrogenation over bifunctional catalysts that contained acid and metal sites in a four-phase reactor, in which the aqueous organic reactant becomes more hydrophobic and a hexadecane alkane stream removes hydrophobic species from the catalyst before they go on further to form coke. These liquid alkanes are of the appropriate molecular weight to be used as transportation fuel components, and they contain 90% of the energy of the carbohydrate and H2feeds.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1111166