Green synthesis of sustainable high-energy-density jet fuels via tandem catalysis of allogenous biomass-derived glycerol and furfuryl alcohol

The catalytic conversion of sustainable lignocellulose biomass to high-energy-density jet fuels (HEDJFs) is vital to reduce CO₂ emissions and expand the application scenarios of aircraft. Herein, an economical, high-yield, and low-carbon strategy to produce HEDJFs with glycerol and furfural alcohol via tandem catalytic was developed. First, cyclopentadiene was produced by the aqueous phase rearrangement of furfural alcohol facilitated by FeZn-F68 and subsequent one-step catalysis over Zn₃Mo₂O₉. Second, norbornene was obtained through liquid-phase dehydration, cross-Diels-Alder reaction, and decarbonylation. Finally, HEDJFs were obtained by the self/cross-Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene with norbornene and subsequent hydrogenation. The x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and other characterizations revealed that the high activity of FeZn-F68 can be attributed to possessing both acidity and hydrogenation ability due to the formation of frustrated-Lewis-pair. The excellent performance of Zn₃Mo₂O₉ is because it has higher reducibility and more oxygen vacancies. The synthesized HEDJFs demonstrate enhanced density (1.01 g/cm³) and volumetric net heat of combustion (42.41 MJ/L). The techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment revealed that 4.485 tons of furfural alcohol, and 0.783 tons of glycerol, are required to produce 1 ton of HEDJFs, and 0.73 tons of CO₂ will be emitted during the process. Remarkably, this method can achieve a carbon emission reduction of 83.4 % compared to traditional petroleum-derived jet fuels.