Synthesis of Branched Biolubricant Base Oil from Oleic Acid

Production of Renewable Hydrocarbon Biofuels with Lignocellulose and Its Derivatives over Heterogeneous Catalysts

In recent years, the issues of global warming and CO2 emission reduction have garnered increasing global attention. In the 21st Conference of the Parties (convened in Paris in 2015), 179 nations and the European Union signed a pivotal agreement to limit the global temperature increase of this century to well below 2 K above preindustrial levels. To fulfill this objective, extensive research has been conducted to use renewable energy sources as potential replacements for traditional fossil fuels. Among them, the production of hydrocarbon transportation fuels from CO2-neutral and renewable biomass has proven to be a particularly promising solution due to its compatibility with existing infrastructure. This review systematically summarizes research progress in the synthesis of liquid hydrocarbon biofuels from lignocellulose during the past two decades. Based on the chemical structure (including n-paraffins, iso-paraffins, aromatics, and cycloalkanes) of hydrocarbon transportation fuels, the synthesis pathways of these biofuels are discussed in four separate sections. Furthermore, this review proposes three guiding principles for the design of practical hydrocarbon biofuels, providing insights into future directions for the development of viable biomass-derived liquid fuels.

Heterogeneous vanadium-catalyzed oxidative cleavage of olefins for sustainable synthesis of carboxylic acids

The development of green and sustainable processes to synthesize active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials is a priority for the pharmaceutical industry. A green and sustainable protocol for the oxidative cleavage of olefins to produce pharmaceutically and biologically valuable carboxylic acids is achieved. The developed protocol involves 70% aq. TBHP as an oxidant over a heterogeneous vanadium catalyst system. Notably, the synthesis of industrially important azelaic acid from various renewable vegetable oils is accomplished. The catalyst could be recycled for up to 5 cycles without significant loss in yield and the protocol was successfully demonstrated at the gram-scale.