Biofuels of Green Diesel–Kerosene–Gasoline Production from Palm Oil: Effect of Palladium Cooperated with Second Metal on Hydrocracking Reaction

Enhancement of Catalytic Activity on Crude Palm Oil Hydrocracking over SiO2/Zr Assisted with Potassium Hydrogen Phthalate

In this study, the catalytic activity of bifunctional SiO₂/Zr catalysts prepared by template and chelate methods using potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHF) for crude palm oil (CPO) hydrocracking to biofuels was investigated. The parent catalyst was successfully prepared by the sol-gel method, followed by the impregnation of zirconium using ZrOCl₂·8H₂O as a precursor. The morphological, structural, and textural properties of the catalysts were examined using several techniques, including electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-ray with mapping, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, particle size analyzer (PSA), N₂ adsorption-desorption, Fourier transform infrared-pyridine, and total and surface acidity analysis using the gravimetric method. The results showed that the physicochemical properties of SiO₂/Zr were affected by different preparation methods. The template method assisted by KHF (SiO₂/Zr-KHF2 and SiO₂-KHF catalysts) provides a porous structure and high catalyst acidity. The catalyst prepared by the chelate method assisted by KHF (SiO₂/Zr-KHF1) exhibited excellent Zr dispersion toward the SiO₂ surface. The modification remarkably enhanced the catalytic activity of the parent catalyst in the order SiO₂/Zr-KHF2 > SiO₂/Zr-KHF1 > SiO₂/Zr > SiO₂-KHF > SiO₂, with sufficient CPO conversion. The modified catalysts also suppressed coke formation and resulted in a high liquid yield. The catalyst features of SiO₂/Zr-KHF1 promoted high-selectivity biofuel toward biogasoline, whereas SiO₂/Zr-KHF2 led to an increase in the selectivity toward biojet. Reusability studies showed that the prepared catalysts were adequately stable over three consecutive runs for CPO conversion. Overall, SiO₂/Zr prepared by the template method assisted by KHF was chosen as the most prominent catalyst for CPO hydrocracking.

Waste cooking oil processing over cobalt aluminate nanoparticles for liquid biofuel hydrocarbons production

The catalytic conversion of waste cooking oil (WCO) was carried out over a synthetic nano catalyst of cobalt aluminate (CoAl₂O₄) to produce biofuel range fractions. A precipitation method was used to create a nanoparticle catalyst, which was then examined using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray, nitrogen adsorption measurements, high-resolution transmission electron Microscopy (HRTEM), infrared spectroscopy, while a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) was used to analyze the chemical construction of the liquid biofuel. A range of experimental temperatures was looked at including 350, 375, 400, 425, and 450 °C; hydrogen pressure of 50, 2.5, and 5.0 MPa; and liquid hour space velocity (LHSV) of 1, 2.5, and 5 h^-1. As temperature, pressure, and liquid hourly space velocity increased, the amount of bio-jet and biodiesel fractional products decreased, while liquid light fraction hydrocarbons increased. 93% optimum conversion of waste cooking oil over CoAl₂O₄ nano-particles was achieved at 400 °C, 50 bar, and 1 h^-1 (LHSV) as 20% yield of bio-jet range,16% gasoline, and 53% biodiesel. According to the product analysis, catalytic hydrocracking of WCO resulted in fuels with chemical and physical characteristics that were on par with those required for fuels derived from petroleum. The study's findings demonstrated the nano cobalt aluminate catalyst's high performance in a catalytic cracking process, which resulted in a WCO to biofuel conversion ratio that was greater than 90%. In this study, we looked at cobalt aluminate nanoparticles as a less complex and expensive alternative to traditional zeolite catalysts for the catalytic cracking process used to produce biofuel and thus can be manufactured locally, which saves the cost of imports for us as a developing country.

Hydrocracking optimization of palm oil over NiMoO4/activated carbon catalyst to produce biogasoline and kerosine

The conversion of palm oil into biofuel is continuing interest in a green alternative fuel. Catalytic hydrocracking palm oil into biofuels was carried out by NiMoO4/activated carbon catalyst. The catalyst was first designed from nanoparticle NiO–MoO3 supported by activated carbon from palm kernel shell and characterized using X-ray crystallography, Fourier transform infrared, and scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray. The efficiency of the catalyst was evaluated for the conversion of palm oil into biogasoline and kerosene using the hydrocracking process at different temperatures (150, 250, and 350°C). The resulting catalytic hydrocracking is liquid biofuels, which is analyzed using GC–MC to determine its fractions: biogasoline (C5–C10) and kerosine (C11–C16). The optimum condition of catalytic hydrocracking was obtained at a temperature of 150°C resulting in two primary fractions classified into biogasoline (37.83%) consisting of n-nonane (C9) and 1-heptene (C7) and kerosine (61.34%) consisting of three primary fractions, n-pentadecane (C15), hexadecene (C16), and 1-undecene (C11). The result of this study proved that the NiMoO4/activated carbon catalyst plays an important role in catalytic hydrocracking and becomes a promising alternative catalyst for the preparation of biofuels.

Facile Fabrication of SiO2/Zr Assisted with EDTA Complexed-Impregnation and Templated Methods for Crude Palm Oil to Biofuels Conversion via Catalytic Hydrocracking

Zr-containing SiO2 and their parent catalysts were fabricated with different methods using EDTA chelation and template-assist. The activity of the catalysts was explored in crude palm oil (CPO) hydrocracking, conducted under a continuous system micro-cylindrical reactor. The conversion features and the selectivity towards biofuel products were also examined. The physicochemical of catalysts, such as structure phase, functional groups, surface morphologies, acidity features, and particle size, were investigated. The study showed that the template method promoted the crystalline porous catalysts, whereas the chelate method initiated the non-porous structure. The catalysts’ acidity features of SiO2 and SiO2/Zr were affected by the preparation, which revealed that the EDTA chelate-assisted method provided higher acidity features compared with the template method. The CPO hydrocracking study showed that the SiO2/Zr-CEDTA provided the highest catalytic activity towards the hydrocracking process, with 87.37% of conversion attained with 66.29%.wt of liquid product. This catalyst exhibited selectivity towards bio-jet (36.88%), bio-diesel (31.43%), and bio-gasoline (26.80%). The reusability study revealed that the SiO2/Zr-CEDTA had better stability towards CPO conversion compared with SiO2/Zr-CEDTA, with a low decrease in catalyst performance at three consecutive runs.

Hydrocracking of crude palm oil to a biofuel using zirconium nitride and zirconium phosphide-modified bentonite

In this study, bentonite modified by zirconium nitride (ZrN) and zirconium phosphide (ZrP) catalysts was studied in the hydrocracking of crude palm oil to biofuels. The study demonstrated that bentonite was propitiously modified by ZrN and ZrP, as assessed by XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, and SEM-EDX analysis. The acidity of the bentonite catalyst was remarkably enhanced by ZrN and ZrP, and it showed an increased intensity in the Lewis acid and Brønsted acid sites, as presented by pyridine FTIR. In the hydrocracking application, the highest conversion was achieved by bentonite-ZrN at 8 mEq g⁻¹ catalyst loading of 87.93%, whereas bentonite-ZrP at 10 mEq g⁻¹ showed 86.04% conversion, which suggested that there was a strong positive correlation between the catalyst acidity and the conversion under a particular condition. The biofuel distribution fraction showed that both the catalysts produced a high bio-kerosene fraction, followed by bio-gasoline and oil fuel fractions. The reusability study revealed that both the catalysts had sufficient conversion stability of CPO through the hydrocracking reaction up to four consecutive runs with a low decrease in the catalyst activity. Overall, bentonite-ZrN dominantly favored the hydrocracking of CPO than bentonite-ZrP.

In this study, bentonite modified by zirconium nitride (ZrN) and zirconium phosphide (ZrP) catalysts was studied in the hydrocracking of crude palm oil to biofuels.

Hydrocracking of Crude Palm Oil over Bimetallic Oxide NiO-CdO/biochar Catalyst

The bimetallic oxide NiO-CdO/biochar catalyst was prepared by coprecipitation and calcination methods. Characterizations of catalyst were carried out using Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR), Surface Area Analyzer (SAA), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) mapping methods. The catalyst showed a good average crystalized size of 12.30 nm related to the nanoparticles and high dispersion of Ni and Cd metals  on the biochar surface. Analysis of liquid fuel products was observed using Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) which was separated to the main product of gasoline fraction (C6–C10), and the second product of kerosene fraction (C11–C16), and diesel fraction (C17–C23). The presence of the catalyst in the hydrocracking resulted in more liquid product of 56.55 wt% than the thermal cracking with a liquid product of 20.55 wt%. The best performance activity of catalyst was found at a temperature of 150 °C with high selectivity to hydrocarbon fuel with 12 types of gasoline fractions (39.24 wt%) compared to gasoline fractions obtained at higher hydrocracking temperatures of 250 °C and 350 °C. The results of this study showed that the bimetallic oxide catalyst supported with biochar from palm kernel shell plays an important role in the hydrocracking process to increase the selectivity of the gasoline fraction. Copyright © 2022 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). 

Biojet Fuel Production from Waste of Palm Oil Mill Effluent through Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Decarboxylation

Palm oil mill effluent (POME), wastewater discharged from the palm oil refinery industry, is classified as an environmental pollutant. In this work, a heterogeneous catalytic process for biojet fuel or green kerosene production was investigated. The enzymatic hydrolysis of POME was firstly performed in order to obtain hydrolysed POME (HPOME) rich in free fatty acid (FFA) content. The variations of the water content (30 to 50), temperature (30 to 60 °C) and agitation speed (150 to 250 rpm) were evaluated. The optimal condition for the POME hydrolysis reaction was obtained at a 50% v/v water content, 40 °C and 200 rpm. The highest FFA yield (Y FA) of 90% was obtained. Subsequently, FFA in HPOME was converted into hydrocarbon fuels via a hydrocracking reaction catalysed by Pd/Al2O3 at 400 °C, 10 bars H2 for 1 h under a high pressure autoclave reactor (HPAR). The refined-biofuel yield (94%) and the biojet selectivity (57.44%) were achieved. In this study, we are the first group to successfully demonstrate the POME waste valorisation towards renewable biojet fuel production based on biochemical and thermochemical routes. The process can be applied for the sustainable management of POME waste. It promises to be a high value-added product parallel to the alleviation of wastewater environmental issues.

Techniques for analysing and monitoring during continuous bio-hydrogenation of kerosene from palm oils

In this research work, analytical, experimental methods and monitoring techniques of bio-hydrogenated kerosene (BHK) production in continuous mode were presented. Two kinds of raw materials obtained from palm processing plant named as refined bleached deodorised palm oil (RPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO) were converted into BHK via hydrocracking reaction catalysed by Pd/Al₂O₃ catalyst in pilot scale. Firstly, both of RPO and PKO were pretreated by thermal technique. Subsequently, fatty acid compositions of palm oils were analysed by Gas Chromatography (GC). Then, hydrocracking reaction of RPO and PKO were separately conducted in continuous high pressure packed bed reactor (HPPBR). After reaction, crude-biofuel was refined into BHK via fractional distillation. In addition, some properties of BHK obtained from RPO/PKO such as were C, H, O elements, freezing point, flash points, total acid number and carbon distribution were analysed following the ASTM and UOP 915 standards.•

Thermal pretreatment of refined bleached deoderised palm oil (RPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO).

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Continuous hydrocracking reaction of palm oil was conducted in pilot scale.

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Characterisation of bio-hydrogenated kerosene obtained from palm oil.

An In-Depth Environmental Sustainability Analysis of Conventional and Advanced Bio-Based Diesels in Thailand

Thailand has been implementing its Alternative Energy Development Plan aiming to replace 20–25% of fossil fuels with locally produced biofuels by 2036. The partial substitution of fossil diesel with fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) derived from palm oil is one of the major options but blending beyond 20% of FAME is a concern for use in conventional diesel engines. This problem has led to the consideration of other bio-based diesels also derived from palm oil; namely, partially hydrogenated fatty acid methyl ester (H-FAME) and bio-hydrogenated diesel (BHD). This study performed a comparative life cycle assessment of various bio-based diesels using the ReCiPe life cycle impact assessment method. The results showed that in comparison to fossil diesel, bio-based diesels have superior performance for global warming and fossil resource scarcity, but an inferior performance for eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, human toxicity, and land use. Considering the collective environmental damages, BHD performed the worst for human health, and all the bio-based diesels showed poor performance for ecosystem quality, while diesel showed poor performance for resource availability. Among the bio-based diesel products, BHD has higher environmental burdens than FAME and H-FAME. Improvements have been suggested to enhance the environmental performance of the bio-based diesels.