An eco-friendly catalytic pretreatment using recyclable CuFeO2 catalyst for enhancing the production of bio-based ethanol and jet fuel

The development of green and efficient biomass pretreatment methods is of great significance for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels. The main objective of this work is to demonstrate a novel recyclable CuFeO 2 catalytic pretreatment way that can be used to promote the production of bioethanol and bio-jet fuel from corncob. Compared to untreated corncob, the biomass pretreated with CuFeO 2 catalyst showed higher sugar production (39.9 %) and higher ethanol production (35.6 %). Especially, the directional transformation of corncob to bio-jet fuel has been achieved by integrating biomass fermentation and catalytic synthesis process. The ethanol conversion of 94.3 % and jet fuel selectivity of 64.7 % were obtained in the process of biofuel synthesis. Based on biomass characterizations, catalyst characterizations and reactive oxygen species analysis, the possible role and mechanism of the CuFeO 2 catalytic pretreatment were outlined. The CuFeO 2 catalytic pr-treatment can be carried out by using the recyclable catalyst at atmospheric pressure and room temperature, which may provide a useful pretreatment way for promoting the biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass.