Highly Efficient Process for Production of Biofuel from Ethanol Catalyzed by Ruthenium Pincer Complexes

A highly efficient ruthenium pincer-catalyzed
Guerbet-type process
for the production of biofuel from ethanol has been developed. It
produces the highest conversion of ethanol (73.4%, 0.02 mol% catalyst)
for a Guerbet-type reaction, including significant amounts of C4 (35.8% yield), C6 (28.2% yield), and C8 (9.4% yield) alcohols. Catalyst loadings as low as 0.001 mol% can
be used, leading to a record turnover number of 18 209. Mechanistic
studies reveal the likely active ruthenium species and the main deactivation
process.

本研究开发了一种以乙醇为原料制备生物燃料的高效钌钳形催化剂催化格尔伯特型（Guerbet-type）反应工艺。该工艺在格尔伯特型反应中实现了目前最高的乙醇转化率（73.4%，催化剂用量0.02 mol%），产物中含有大量C4（产率35.8%）、C6（产率28.2%）与C8（产率9.4%）醇类。该工艺的催化剂用量可低至0.001 mol%，创下了18209的转化数（turnover number）纪录。机理研究揭示了该体系中可能存在的活性钌物种以及主要的失活过程。