A method for the efficient synthesis of useful deoxygenated terpenoids from an abundant renewable source, using catalytic conversion of oxygenated terpenoids. Oxygenated terpenoids such as 1,4-cineole and 1,8-cineole are, for example, major components of turpentine and essential oils. These oxygenated terpenoids can also be produced from sugars via a biosynthetic approach. Catalytic deoxygenation of these substrates can be used to efficiently generate commercially important chemicals and high density fuels for turbine or diesel propulsion.

Disclosed is a method of preparing isobutene in which high-purity isobutene is separated (prepared) from a C.sub.4 mixture by cracking glycol ether prepared from a C.sub.4 mixture (in particular, C.sub.4 raffinate-1) containing isobutene and a glycol. The method includes cracking glycol ether into isobutene and glycol at a temperature between 50 C. and 300 C. in the presence of a strongly acidic catalyst. The glycol ether may be prepared by reaction between a C.sub.4 mixture containing isobutene and glycol in the presence of an acid catalyst.

A process for making high density fuels, pure terpene dimers, and byproducts from mixed terpene feedstocks and the resulting high density fuel products. The fuels produced by the process includes, dimerizing at least one terpene feedstock by mixing at least one terpene with at least one heterogeneous acidic catalyst and at least one solvent used to control the reaction temperature for a desired time and temperature to produce a crude terpene dimer (C.sub.20H.sub.32 mixture) in about 65% to about 95% chemical yield, hydrogenating the crude terpene dimer (C.sub.20H.sub.32 mixture) with at least one hydrogenation catalyst under a hydrogen atmosphere and removing the hydrogenating catalyst(s) to produce about 65% by weight to about 95% by weight of hydrogenated terpene dimer mixture, and utilizing a separation method against the hydrogenated terpene dimer mixture to produce byproducts, where the process generates a hydrocarbon mixture with a viscosity of between about 20 and 50 cSt at 40 C.

Methods for producing alcohols and oligomers contemporaneously from a hydrocarbon feed containing mixed butenes using an acid based catalyst are provided. Additionally, methods for producing fuel compositions having alcohols and oligomers prepared from mixed olefins are also provided as embodiments of the present invention. In certain embodiments, the catalyst can include a dual phase catalyst system that includes a water soluble acid catalyst and a solid acid catalyst.

Isomerized olefin products are produced by contacting an olefin feed containing a C.sub.10 to C.sub.20 normal alpha olefin, a solid acid catalyst, and a C.sub.2 to C.sub.15 primary ester to form the isomerized olefin product. Typical primary esters used in the processes include formates and acetates. Linear olefin compositions are produced that contain at least 80 wt. % C.sub.10 to C.sub.20 linear internal olefins, less than 8 wt. % C.sub.10 to C.sub.20 normal alpha olefins, less than 8 wt. % dimers of C.sub.10 to C.sub.20 olefins, less than 15 wt. % C.sub.10 to C.sub.20 branched olefins, and at least 1 wt. % C.sub.2 to C.sub.15 primary ester and less than 8 wt. % secondary esters.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a method for making fuels and feedstocks from readily available alcohol starting materials. In some embodiments, the method concerns converting alcohols to carbonyl-containing compounds and then condensing such carbonyl-containing compounds together to form oligomerized species. These oligomerized species can then be reduced using by-products from the conversion of the alcohol. In some embodiments, the method further comprises converting saturated, oligomerized, carbonyl-containing compounds to aliphatic fuels.