Electrofuels from sustainable resources

Abstract: Electrochemical coupling of biobased platform molecules can lead to highly branched isoalkanes and cyclic hydrocarbons which are otherwise difficult to access from biomass feedstocks. Mesityl oxide and isophorone are produced by the base-induced self-condensation of biogenic acetone and can be electrochemically coupled in a simple undivided cell to give oxygenates that are catalytically hydrogenated to branched C9, C12, C15, and C18 hydrocarbons. The resulting product was shown to exceed the specifications for commercial Jet A fuel. Likewise, lignocellulose-derived levulinic acid couples at the anode with the loss of carbon dioxide to give a C8 dione that undergoes intramolecular aldol condensation, yielding a branched cycloalkane after hydrodeoxygenation. These products have the potential to function as sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), for which there is a very large, currently unmet market.