Distillate-range products from non-oil-based sources by catalytic cascade reactions.

An original two-step process efficiently catalyzed by functionalized mesoporous materials is proposed as a potential route for converting light olefins into long-chain hydrocarbons in the distillate range. In the first step, ethylene can be selectively transformed into C4 -C10 olefins with an even number of carbon atoms, over nickel-exchanged AlMCM-41, at 150 °C. When the nickel-catalyzed oligomerization was assisted by a second acid-catalyzed step over H-MCM-41, olefins with chains longer than 10 carbon atoms were mainly produced with a productivity of 180 g g⁻¹ h⁻¹.