In this study, nickel II oxalate complex (NiOx) was prepared by functionalization of nickel with oxalic acid (OxA) and incorporated into Al2O3 to synthesize alumina supported nickel oxalate (NiOx/Al2O3) catalyst for the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of oleic acid (OA) into biofuel. The synthesized NiOx/Al2O3 was characterized and the X-ray fluorescence and elemental dispersive X-ray results showed that NiOx was successfully incorporated into the structure of Al2O3. The X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy results confirmed that highly dispersed Ni species are present in the NiOx/Al2O3 due to the functionalization with OxA. The catalytic activity of the NiOx/Al2O3 on the HDO of OA produced a mixture of 21% iso-C18 and 72% n-C18 at a 360 degrees C, 20 bar, 30 mg NiOx/Al2O3 loading pressure and gas flow rate of 100 mL/min. The presence of i-C-18 was ascribed to the OxA functionalization which increased the acidity of NiOx/Al2O3. The NiOx/Al2O3 reusability study showed consistent HDO ability after 5 runs. These results are promising for further research into biofuel production for commercialization. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.