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The Impact of Fatty Acid Composition on Transportation Fuel Yields via the Non-Catalytic Cracking of Triacylglyceride Oils

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society

Abstract

A wide spectrum of triacylglyceride (TG) oils were decomposed in batch lab and continuous pilot-scale reactors to generate an extensive database, which was then used to construct a model to predict the detailed composition of products generated during non-catalytic cracking. The model was then coupled with additional simulated process steps to determine the yields of transportation products and other chemical co-products meeting specifications of their petroleum analogs as validated with laboratory testing. A statistical study was then performed to use the model to analyze the impact that changes in TG oil composition have upon target product yields. In this study, the model was used to simulate a viable suite of products for every TG oil analyzed. The model predicts minor differences in the ratio of products from various different fatty acid compositions. For example, it was found that stearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1), and erucic (C22:1) acids show a positive effect on fuel yields. By contrast, palmitic (C16:0), linoleic (C18:2), and linolenic (C18:3) acids have negative impacts on fuel yields. From these results, a hypothetical “ideal” TG oil was constructed. This oil turns out to have a composition that is very close to the composition of high oleic sunflower oil.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this work was received from the North Dakota Department of Commerce Centers of Excellence program via the SUNRISE BioProducts Center of Excellence and Bayer Crop Science. Our thanks to Dr. Burton Johnson, NDSU Plant Sciences and Dr. Russ Gesch, USDA-ARL research agronomist for supplying crambe and camelina seeds.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of North Dakota, 241 Centennial Drive, Stop 7101, Grand Forks, ND, 58202-7101, USA

    Wayne Seames, Michael Linnen, Blake Sander & Robert Wills

Authors
  1. Wayne Seames
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  2. Michael Linnen
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  3. Blake Sander
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  4. Robert Wills
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wayne Seames.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

11746_2016_2944_MOESM1_ESM.docx

ChemCAD components selected for the RCC (used in simulation, regression, and analysis). Supplementary Table 1 (DOCX 19 kb).

11746_2016_2944_MOESM2_ESM.docx

Coefficients and significance for the regression of OLP composition vs. reaction conditions. Supplementary Table 2 (DOCX 47 kb).

11746_2016_2944_MOESM3_ESM.docx

Coefficients and significance for the regression of OLP composition vs. feedstock fatty acid composition. Supplementary material 3 (DOCX 50 kb).

The batch cracking reactor. Supplementary Figure 4 (TIFF 242 kb).

11746_2016_2944_MOESM5_ESM.docx

Example fuel property reports generated by the study simulation model for a) diesel no. 1 from HO85 canola oil and b) jet fuel from HE Brassica oil. Supplementary Figure 5 (DOCX 16 kb).

11746_2016_2944_MOESM6_ESM.tif

The OLP composition summary from the non-catalytic cracking of each study TG oil: a) canola85, b) high erucic acid brassica, c) camelina, d) crambe, e) cottonseed, f) linseed, g) refined corn oil, and h) crude corn oil. Supplementary Figure 6 (TIFF 1268 kb).

11746_2016_2944_MOESM7_ESM.tif

The OLP composition summary from the continuous non-catalytic cracking of soybean oil at various operating conditions: a) 400 C reaction temperature, 400 psig reaction pressure, 3.08 hr residence time, b) 420 C, 400 psig, 3.08 hr, c) 400 C, 400 psig, 1.76 hr, d) 420 C, 400 psig, 1.76 hr, e) 400 C, 200 psig, 3.08 hr, f) 420 C, 200 psig, 3.08 hr, g) 400 C, 200 psig, 1.76 hr, and h) 420 C, 200 psig, 1.76 hr. Supplementary Figure 7 (TIFF 979 kb).

11746_2016_2944_MOESM8_ESM.tif

The fatty acid composition summary for untested TG oils and for a “best” TG oil, denoted here as “fantasy canola”. Supplementary Figure 8 (TIFF 100 kb).

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Seames, W., Linnen, M., Sander, B. et al. The Impact of Fatty Acid Composition on Transportation Fuel Yields via the Non-Catalytic Cracking of Triacylglyceride Oils. J Am Oil Chem Soc 94, 497–509 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-016-2944-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-016-2944-0

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