Abstract
This study focused on the synthesis of hydrocarbon fuel containing a high iso-paraffin and very low oxygen content from palm oil using a mixed acid–base catalyst. The catalysts were characterized by nitrogen adsorption–desorption, X-ray diffraction, hydrogen-temperature programmed reduction, carbon dioxide- and ammonia-temperature programmed desorption as well as thermogravimetric analysis. Solid base (MgO, CaO, SiO2, and Na2SiO3) and solid acid (HY, H-beta, HZSM5, and Al2O3) catalysts were individually evaluated for their catalytic activity in a semi-batch reactor in terms of the deoxygenation level of palm oil product. The best acid and alkali catalyst were then selected for mixing at different weight ratios and re-tested for their tandem catalytic performance in terms of the deoxygenation activity. Finally, the reaction temperature (400–460 °C), pressure in a nitrogen or hydrogen gas atmosphere and residence time were optimized. The main components in the liquid product obtained were normal paraffins, iso-paraffins, olefins and aromatics. For the single base catalysts, a liquid yield of higher than 65 wt% was obtained at a 460 °C using MgO catalyst, which also realized an excellent oxygen removal through decarboxylation and decarbonylation. For the single acid catalysts, the zeolite beta catalysts reached a liquid yield of around 55 wt% with high iso-paraffin content. The optimal MgO:beta zeolite weight ratio for the acid–base hybrid catalyst was 3:1, which resulted in a low oxygen content in the products with a high iso-paraffin (35%) content.
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Acknowledgements
T.Q. Trieu would like to acknowledge the scholarship for international graduate student in ASEAN countries from Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, the research funding from Thailand Research Fund (IRG5780001), Energy Policy and Planning Office, Ministry of Energy (ENCON Fund), National Research Council of Thailand with National Natural Science Foundation of China (NRCT-NSFC2558-104), and Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)/Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
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Trieu, T.Q., Guan, G., Liu, G. et al. Direct synthesis of iso-paraffin fuel from palm oil on mixed heterogeneous acid and base catalysts. Monatsh Chem 148, 1235–1243 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00706-017-1963-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00706-017-1963-3