Hydroisomerization of sustainable feedstock in biomass-to-fuel conversion: a critical review

The production of diesel and gasoline range paraffins from both solid and liquid biomass is one of the promising alternatives being considered for ensuring sustainable fuel supply. Solid biomass gasification produces synthetic gas, which via subsequent Fischer-Tropsch reaction is converted into useful liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Similarly, pyrolysis generates oxygenated and bio-oil products with comparable fuel potentials. The liquid biomass such as vegetable oils, on the other hand can be upgraded by serial hydrogenation, cracking, deoxygenation, and decarboxylation. We have critically reviewed substantial literature on the various conversion processes and the hydroisomerization of the linear bioparaffins into isomerized products with enhanced fuel properties. Emphasis was given to the heterogeneous catalyst systems, operational parameters, reaction mechanisms, and identified challenges. The scope was extended to cover different porous catalysts with prospects in biomass-to-fuel conversion. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.