Fatty acids-derived fuels from biomass via catalytic deoxygenation

Abstract

This chapter gives an overview of catalytic deoxygenation of fatty acids, their esters, and triglycerides for production of green diesel fuel. This new technology is an alternative route for production of diesel range hydrocarbons and can be achieved by catalytic hydrogenation of carboxyl group over sulfided catalysts as well as decarboxylation/decarbonylation over noble metal-supported catalysts and catalytic cracking of fatty acids and their derivatives. The review gives a comparison of these methods focusing on catalyst selection, deactivation, and reaction pathways providing examples of renewable feedstock utilization and discussions on advantages and disadvantages of different approaches.