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 C 4 –C 10 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 .