Catalyst Design Strategies for Deoxygenation of Vegetable Oils to Produce Second-Generation Biodiesel

Abstract

The second-generation biodiesel generated via deoxygenation of vegetable oils is an ideal green fuel compared to fossil fuels, and it can help address environmental pollution and the energy crisis. During the catalytic deoxygenation process of vegetable oils, the most critical core is the synthesis of catalysts with superior reaction performance. In this work, the catalyst design strategies including the selection of metal active species (non/noble metal and amorphous alloy catalysts), adjustment of coordination environment for metal active sites by metallic interstitial compounds, lattice sulfur and lattice oxygen, and regulation of the interface between metal sites and support were summarized systematically. This review is committed to providing fundamental understandings of catalytic mechanisms and insights into the catalyst design, thus guiding the catalyst synthesis for catalytic deoxygenation of vegetable oils and further boosting the industrialization process of second-generation biodiesel.