Synthesis of jet fuel intermediates via aldol condensation of biomass-derived furfural with lanthanide catalyst

Jet fuel precursors (4-(2-furyl)-3-buten-2-one (FAc) and 1,5-di-2-furanyl-1,4-pentadien-3-one (F 2 Ac)) can be produced from aldol condensation between furfural and acetone over basic catalysts. However, there is still a need to develop efficient alkaline catalysts and understand the role of alkaline sites. In this work, La 2 O 2 CO 3 -Al 2 O 3 catalyst was successfully prepared by coprecipitation and the effect of preparation conditions on the properties and catalytic performance was investigated. Experiments showed that La 2 O 2 CO 3 and La 2 O 3 were formed after calcination , and the activity was greatly improved by the introduction of La 2 O 2 CO 3 . At higher coprecipitation pH, rod-shaped La 2 O 2 CO 3 was formed, which exhibits higher exposure of basic La 3+ -O 2− sites and shows good performance in aldol condensation reactions. The catalytic performance of La 2 O 2 CO 3 -Al 2 O 3 in aldol condensation of furfural with acetone was also evaluated and compared with that of Al 2 O 3 , La 2 O 3 , La 2 O 3 -Al 2 O 3 , La(OH)₃/Al 2 O 3 and La 2 O 2 CO 3 /Al 2 O 3 . A total conversion of furfural can be realized with F 2 Ac yield of 67.8% at a furfural/acetone ratio of 1/1 and 90 °C, with a FAc yield of 25.8% at the same time. The deactivation mechanism of the La 2 O 2 CO 3 -Al 2 O 3 catalyst was also studied.