Hydrogen-Economic Synthesis of Gasoline-like Hydrocarbons by Catalytic Hydrodecarboxylation of the Biomass-derived Angelica Lactone Dimer

Abstract

The biomass-derived platform molecule levulinic acid is converted into the angelica lactone dimer (ALD) in high overall yield using simple inorganic catalysts. Hydrodecarboxylation of ALD using a Pd/?-Al<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> catalyst under moderate hydrogen gas pressure at high temperatures generates branched C<inf>8</inf>–C<inf>9</inf> hydrocarbons in nearly quantitative yield consuming as little as a single equivalent of external hydrogen. These molecules are high-octane “drop-in” equivalents of isoalkanes used in commercial gasoline. Catalytic hydrodecarboxylation is presented as a highly effective means to reduce hydrogen demand in biomass-to-biofuel conversion technologies. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim