Catalytic Biorefining of Natural Oils to Basic Olefinic Building Blocks of Proven Chemical Valorization Schemes.

Catalytic transformation of renewable plant oils including microalgae and waste oil into industrially relevant α-olefins in the C to C regime is demonstrated. The biorefinery concept is comprised of a catalytic sequence of ethenolysis, double bond isomerization, and a subsequent ethenolysis, thereby cutting and rearranging the fatty acid chains into valuable chemical building blocks. A benign extraction and reaction solvent, supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO ), is utilized.