Green synthesis of Cu-Mo promoted Fe catalyst for production of the gaseous and liquid fuels through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis

•Trimetallic Fe catalyst was synthesized using a biomass-based support with engineered features for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.•The effects of support pre-treatment and promoters on the surface basicity of the active sites were discussed.•Light olefin selectivity for the Cu-Mo promoted catalysts was remarkably enhanced.•The optimized catalyst led to 78.8% CO conversion and 48.3% C5+ selectivity.•The contribution of Mo carbides as active sites was evaluated based on XPS and EXAFS results.