Production of Hydrocarbon Fuels From Palmitic Acid and Related Lipid Feedstocks: Catalytic Nanoarchitectonics for Advanced Performance
Haiyu Wei, Yongxiang Chen, Qingsong Luo, Angjian Wu, Sibao Liu, Lei Wang, Zengyi Ma, Lujie Liu, Jianhua YanABSTRACT
The catalytic hydroconversion of lipid‐derived feedstocks offers a promising route to renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuels. Palmitic acid, a structurally defined saturated C16 fatty acid, serves as a model substrate for understanding C─O bond cleavage, carbon‐chain retention, and hydrocarbon isomerization. Its lack of C═C bonds allows deoxygenation chemistry to be examined without concurrent hydrogenation of unsaturated chains. This review summarizes recent progress in the conversion of palmitic acid and its derivatives into liquid hydrocarbons, focusing on the competition among hydrodeoxygenation, decarboxylation/decarbonylation, hydroisomerization, and cracking pathways. The roles of active metals, oxophilic promoters, acidic supports, and metal‐acid cooperation in controlling the formation of linear and branched alkanes are systematically discussed. Mechanistic insights derived from kinetic studies, in situ characterization, and theoretical calculations are integrated to clarify catalyst structure‐performance relationships. The discussion is further extended to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), other fatty acids, and palm oil, highlighting the increasing importance of catalyst stability as feedstock complexity increases.