Advances in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) research have accelerated the use of lignocellulose biomass as a renewable feedstock. Most SAF production pathways primarily yield paraffins, which must be blended with aromatics to meet current engine specifications. However, cycloalkanes have demonstrated the potential to replace aromatics in this context. Among cycloalkanes, bicycloalkanes stand out because of their high energy density and lower freezing point and making them critical components of advanced aviation fuels. However, most reported processes to date focus on synthesizing bicycloalkanes using model compounds or single sugar components of lignocellulose. Here, we report an integrated catalytic process to produce bicycloalkanes using mixed sugars present in corn stover hydrolysate. First, furfural (FFR) and 5-hydroxy methyl furfural (5-HMF) were produced via acid-catalyzed dehydration, achieving combined furfurals molar yields ranging from 65 to 73%, respectively. The resulting furfurals were subsequently converted to cyclopentanones with molar yields within the range of 57 to 63% via hydrogenation and Piancatelli rearrangement. Further processing via aldol condensation of cyclopentanones yielded C10-C12 oxygenates with minimal oligomerization and an overall selectivity of approximately 80 mol%. Lastly, these oxygenates were directly hydrodeoxygenated to bicycloalkanes in a yield of 70 wt%. The resulting bicycloalkanes exhibit Tier α fuel properties consistent with Jet A fuel specifications, including viscosity, surface tension, freezing point and energy density. Distillation studies suggest these have blend compatibility with conventional jet fuel at a 37% volumetric ratio.
