Advances in Upgrading Biomass to Biofuels and Oxygenated Fuel Additives Using Metal Oxide Catalysts

Abstract

Increasing demand for transportation fuels, awareness of climate change, and dwindling supplies of crude oil has led to the rapid increase in production of biomass derived oxygenated fuel additives as viable drop-in fuels for potential blending with conventional fuels. The biorefinery processes for synthesis of oxygenated fuel additives using metal oxide catalysts in various forms have evolved significantly. Metal oxides exhibit diverse structures and physiochemical properties including acidity, basicity, and redox nature along with the lattice oxygen vacancies, which by careful design and modification can be tuned to optimize high catalytic activity and selectivity in several organic transformations. Metal oxide based catalysts can be designed for use in industries, as individual metal oxides or mixed metal oxides, decorated with noble and non-noble metal nanoparticles, porous metal oxides, and sulfonated metal oxides. In this review, we have attempted to consolidate the progress made with catalytic applications of metal oxides in the synthesis and production of oxygenated fuel additives through several important biorefinery processes.

Techno-Economic Assessment and Sensitivity Analysis of Glycerol Valorization to Biofuel Additives via Esterification

“…In continuation of our group’s interest in environmental catalysis, the aim of this work is to provide a feasibility study with a techno-economic analysis for the valorization of crude glycerol into acetins. − This analysis has been done on Aspen Plus for process optimization followed by the techno-economic analysis by Aspen Process Economic Analyzer (APEA). The first part consists of a preliminary process development and a preliminary conceptual flowsheet with the mass and energy transfer schemes.…”

Solid‐Supported Catalysts for Organic Functional Group Transformations

“…Catalysis plays a central role in countless chemicals production from research laboratories to chemical industries. [1][2][3] Sustainable manufacturing of many products that are essential to our daily lives, such as medicine, [4][5][6] fine chemicals, [7] polymers, [8][9][10] fiber, [11][12][13] fuel, [14][15][16] automotive, [17][18][19] and so on, would not be possible without catalysts. In this regard, homogeneous catalysts have played a dominating role in catalysis because they react in the same phase as reactants.…”

Combining Theoretical and Experimental Methods to Probe Confinement within Microporous Solid Acid Catalysts for Alcohol Dehydration

“…To fulfill future energy and chemical demands, we must investigate renewable, sustainable feedstocks. − A wide range of alternatives for these markets are being proposed with carbon utilization − and bio-based feedstocks being particularly promising. − Commercialization of the former is currently hampered by the associated costs of CO 2 capture, purification, and activation, though a significant body of work is devoted to rapidly overcoming this for future use. ,− Bio-based feedstocks contain a vast array of oxygenated products, with bioalcohols making a significant proportion of this, and offer a sustainable alcohol supply, though require water content and the presence of contaminants to be carefully addressed. − However, many other fermentation technologies and microbial methods exist that convert lignocellulose into alcohols, particularly ethanol and propanols . Currently, butanol is the preferred biofuel due to its high energy density and being less corrosive than ethanol. − Despite this preference, ethanol and propanol feedstocks offer an alternative pathway to produce short-chain olefins either through direct dehydration or more complex alcohol to hydrocarbon routes. − Specifically, ethene and propene are vital precursors for the polymer, pharmaceutical, and fuel industries.…”