A new study from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory explains the mechanism behind a technology that converts bio-based ethanol into hydrocarbon blend-stocks for use as fossil fuel alternatives. Scientists have experimented for decades with a class of catalysts known as zeolites that transform alcohols such as ethanol into higher-grade hydrocarbons. As ORNL researchers were developing a new type of zeolite-based conversion technology, they found the underlying reaction unfolds in a different manner than previously thought. The researchers’ analysis found that this energy-consuming intermediary step is not necessary for the conversion to happen. Instead, an energy-producing “hydrocarbon pool” mechanism allows the zeolite catalysts to directly produce longer hydrocarbon chains from the original alcohols. ORNL researchers tracked the molecular transition in labeling experiments with deuterium, a hydrogen isotope, to confirm the hydrocarbon pool mechanism. The research, supported by DOE’s BioEnergy Technologies Office, has implications for the energy efficiency and cost of catalytic upgrading technologies proposed for use in bio-refineries. To read further, please visit https://www.ornl.gov/news/energy-efficient-reaction-drives-ornl-biofuel-conversion-technology.