Palladium on carbon-catalysed carbon-carbon coupling reactions of cyclohexanone (KA oil) and alkyl alcohols for the synthesis of zero net emission jet fuels

The cyclohexanone / cyclohexanol mixture (KA oil) is one of the most produced C6 chemicals worldwide, derived from renewable sources if desired; however, the use of KA oil as a precursor for zero net emission fuels has not been studied in-depth yet, as far as we know. We show here that KA oil is converted to an aromatic-free product mixture compatible with the composition of jet fuels after a series of carbon-carbon coupling reactions, of either KA oil with itself or with bioderived alcohols, in the presence of a commercially available solid-supported palladium on carbon catalyst under basic conditions (KOH). Water is the only by-product of the reaction, and phosphines can be used as ligands to variate the final product composition.