Increasing demand for transportation
fuels, awareness of climate
change, and dwindling supplies of crude oil has led to the rapid increase
in production of biomass derived oxygenated fuel additives as viable
drop-in fuels for potential blending with conventional fuels. The
biorefinery processes for synthesis of oxygenated fuel additives using
metal oxide catalysts in various forms have evolved significantly.
Metal oxides exhibit diverse structures and physiochemical properties
including acidity, basicity, and redox nature along with the lattice
oxygen vacancies, which by careful design and modification can be
tuned to optimize high catalytic activity and selectivity in several
organic transformations. Metal oxide based catalysts can be designed
for use in industries, as individual metal oxides or mixed metal oxides,
decorated with noble and non-noble metal nanoparticles, porous metal
oxides, and sulfonated metal oxides. In this review, we have attempted
to consolidate the progress made with catalytic applications of metal
oxides in the synthesis and production of oxygenated fuel additives
through several important biorefinery processes.