Catalytic Strategies for Low-Carbon Fuel Production: Progress, Constraints, and Future Directions

Abstract

Catalytic materials determine how efficiently carbonaceous, biogenic, and fossil-derived feedstocks can be upgraded into practical fuels. This review reassesses progress in fuel-oriented catalysis by comparing the influence of active metals, supports, promoters, pore architecture, and operating conditions on conversion, selectivity, and durability. Thermochemical routes such as Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, reforming, hydrodeoxygenation, and CO₂ hydrogenation are considered alongside emerging electrochemical pathways. The analysis highlights how transport limitations, acidity/basicity, metal dispersion, and interfacial chemistry govern performance, while coking, sintering, poisoning, and structural reconstruction continue to limit industrial deployment. Special attention is given to mesostructured supports, bifunctional catalysts, single-atom active sites, and data-driven screening approaches that can shorten development cycles. Across the surveyed literature, high initial activity alone is not a sufficient metric of quality; catalysts must also maintain selectivity, tolerate realistic feeds, and remain regenerable over extended operation. The review therefore emphasizes integrated design strategies that couple rational synthesis, operando characterization, kinetic interpretation, and machine-learning-assisted discovery to support cleaner and more resilient fuel production technologies.