Modulating structural and acidic properties of ZSM-5 to boost dehydration-oligomerization of higher alcohols derived from fermentation ethanol upgrading to bio-jet fuel precursors

One-pot dehydration-oligomerization of biomass-derived alcohols provides a promising strategy for the production of renewable jet fuels, but it is still a great challenge. In this study, the hierarchically porous plate-like HZSM-5 catalysts were constructed to catalyze dehydration-oligomerization of higher alcohols derived from upgrading of fermentation ethanol. It was observed that the P40(0.2) catalyst showed the best performance with the C 8 -C 16 products selectivity of 66.4%. Systematic investigations revealed that the outstanding performance of P40(0.2) originated mainly from the synergistic effect of the finely tuned acidity and the hierarchical porous plate-like structure. Notably, the good activity of P40(0.2) on dehydration-oligomerization of the actual oil phase from ethanol upgrading confirmed the great potential of practical applications for the synthesis of jet fuels from biomass-derived alcohols.