Highly active iron-promoted hexagonal mesoporous silica (HMS) for deoxygenation of triglycerides to green hydrocarbon-like biofuel

[Display omitted] •Fe supported on HMS for deoxygenation of triolein without H2 and solvent-free.•Fe/HMS catalyst exhibit high conversion and product selectivity of biofuel.•The synergistic effect of Si-O-Fe and a well-dispersed Fe2O3 improve deoxygenation.•The total acidity, surface area, and pore size of Fe/HMS play an important role. The interest in the production of sustainable hydrocarbon-like biofuel is increasing due to the environmental issues such as global warming and uncertainty of crude oil prices. A series of Fe catalysts (5, 10, 40, and 100 wt% Fe) supported on the hexagonal mesoporous silica (HMS) were successfully prepared for the production of biofuel via deoxygenation (DO) reaction. In the DO reaction, the diesel range biofuel is produced in the absence of H2 and solvents. Interestingly, the 40 wt.%Fe/HMS catalyst exhibited the highest conversion and selectivity of 81.4 and 84.8%, respectively toward C8-C20 hydrocarbons-like biofuel at 380 °C for 2 h. This performance is closely related to the well-dispersed Fe in the hematite phase, along with the interaction between Si-OH and Fe-O bonds. The acidity, surface area, and pore size of Fe/HMS have improved the catalytic activity. This result demonstrates that the Fe/HMS catalyst is a potential DO catalyst for the production of renewable hydrocarbon-like biofuel.