Sustainable alkane production from waste fatty acids via electrochemically coupled decarboxylation and hydrogenation.

ABSTRACT: Upgrading fatty acid derivatives is a promising route to sustainable diesel and jet fuels, but conventional processes require high temperature, pressure, and large H₂ input, while contaminants in waste oil deactivate catalysts, demanding costly purification. Here, we present an integrated electrochemical strategy combining anodic decarboxylation, cathodic proton reduction, and olefin hydrogenation in one reactor, upgrading fatty acid derivatives to long-chain alkanes under mild conditions (60 °C, 1 atm) without external hydrogen. A high alkane yield of 88.9% is achieved and the reported performance is competitive. Experiments and calculations reveal that fatty acid chain length governs product yield and distribution by influencing -H departure and C_γ-C_β-COOH bond clea

SUBMITTER: Wei W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12775145 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature