Selectively Converting Biomass to Jet Fuel in Large‐scale Apparatus

Abstract Jet fuel is not easy to synthesize by the biomass‐to‐liquid (BTL) process owing to the limitation of the Anderson–Schulz–Flory (ASF) hydrocarbon distribution law in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) with biomass‐derived syngas (CO+H 2 ). Here, we realized an anti‐ASF distribution to selectively produce jet fuel from biomass on a large scale by addition of small amounts of 1‐olefin, a FTS product, into syngas, enhancing jet fuel selectivity in hydrocarbons up to 64 % and that in oil product to as high as 91 %. The Co/SiO 2 catalyst (300 g) was loaded into a flow‐type three‐phase reactor and 120 h continuous operation was conducted by using the real‐time on‐line biomass‐derived syngas from an entrained bed gasifier of biomass (240 kg day −1 ) of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. The production rate of liquid oil reached 720 g kg cat −1 h −1 . The structure of the fresh and used catalyst was characterized in detail, accompanied with lab‐scale data on reaction performance and catalyst properties. The stable technology process from biomass gasification to FTS, stable catalyst structure, and novel design of 1‐olefin addition are the key to success in selectively converting biomass to jet fuel on a large scale.