This disclosure provides a new approach for bio-oil upgrading using methane as reductant instead of hydrogen. Guaiacol, produced by thermal degradation of lignin, represents a model compound for upgrading of fast pyrolysis bio-oils by deoxygenation. To overcome the high cost of H2, methane is used to deoxygenate guaiacol. On Pt/C catalyst, in terms of guaiacol conversion and product distribution, methane is found to exhibit comparable deoxygenation performance as H2. Its lifetime, however, is lower (