Renewable Gasoline, Solvents, and Fuel Additives from 2,3‐Butanediol

2,3‐Butanediol (2,3‐BD) is a renewable alcohol that can be prepared in high yield from biomass sugars. 2,3‐BD was selectively dehydrated in a solvent‐free process to a complex mixture of 2‐ethyl‐2,4,5‐trimethyl‐1,3‐dioxolanes and 4,5‐dimethyl‐2isopropyl dioxolanes with the heterogeneous acid catalyst Amberlyst‐15. The purified dioxolane mixture exhibited an anti‐knock index of 90.5, comparable to high octane gasoline, and a volumetric net heat of combustion 34 % higher than ethanol. The solubility of the dioxolane mixture in water was only 0.8 g per 100 mL, nearly an order of magnitude lower than the common gasoline oxygenate methyl tert ‐butyl ether. The dioxolane mixture has potential applications as a sustainable gasoline blending component, diesel oxygenate, and industrial solvent.