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Deep-hydrogenation of aviation turbine fuel over highly active and robust magneto-sensitive nanocatalyst

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Abstract

Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) with low aromatic contents is essential for high-performance aircraft and long-range missiles due to its good thermal stability and combustion properties. Our study investigated the potential of a magneto-sensitive nanocatalyst (MSN) to reduce the aromatic contents of ATF through deep hydrogenation. Different compositions of MSN were synthesized through the wet impregnation and chemical reduction method by varying the concentrations of Fe, Ni, Co, and Mo over γ-Al2O3, MCM-41, and clay nanopowder as solid support. Among different combinations, Fe0.20:Ni0.60:Mo0.20 @ clay + γ-Al2O3 + MCM-41 as MSN showed excellent activity for deep hydrogenation of ATF. The structural and elemental features of the MSN were examined through FE-SEM, EDAX, XRD, and VSM techniques that confirm metal impregnation on the solid support. Using a batch reactor, the catalytic activity was investigated for deep hydrogenation of ATF using hydrogen gas under a reaction temperature range of 180–250 °C. The resulting fuel shows an increased calorific value (10,210 cal/g) with reduced density (0.782 g/mL) due to reducing aromatic contents from 22 to 9 vol%. Further, the synthesized MSN catalysts could be recovered through magnets, making them reusable for five cycles without losing the catalytic efficiency. The promising potential of MSN for deep hydrogenation of ATF (to obtain < 10 vol% aromatics) will help to achieve the fuel thermal-oxidative stability needed for long-range missile application.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the characterization facility of DMSRDE (DRDO) Kanpur and IIT-Kanpur. The authors also acknowledge the staff members, especially Mithilesh Kumar Baitha, for the properties evaluation.

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  1. Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), DRDO, Kanpur, 208013, India

    Nizamuddin Khan & Tandra Nandi

  2. Nano Surface Texturing Laboratory, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DU), Ministry of Defence, Girinagar, Pune, 411025, India

    Nizamuddin Khan, Balasubramanian Kandasubramanian & Ashutosh C. Abhyankar

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  1. Nizamuddin Khan
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Khan, N., Kandasubramanian, B., Abhyankar, A.C. et al. Deep-hydrogenation of aviation turbine fuel over highly active and robust magneto-sensitive nanocatalyst. Braz. J. Chem. Eng. 39, 473–485 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43153-021-00211-5

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