Characteristic and catalytic performance of Co and Co-Mo metal impregnated in sarulla natural zeolite catalyst for hydrocracking of MEFA rubber seed oil into biogasoline fraction

Abstract

This research was aimed to investigate the effect of Co and Co-Mo metal loaded on Sarulla Natural Zeolite which has been activated and calcined (SNZ-Cal) as supports for better understanding of characterization and catalytic activity on hydrocracking of MEFA rubber seed oil. The Co and Co-Mo metal was added through a wet impregnation method using Co(NO3)2·6H2O and (NH4)·6Mo7O24·4H2O precursor salts. The catalyst was oxidized at 500 °C for 2 h within oxygen gas flow, followed by a reduction process with H2 gas flow with similar condition to obtain the catalysts. Based on the result, it was found that the resulted catalysts displayed an increase in crystal grain size compared to the metal-free catalyst. Particularly, catalyst that was impregnated with Co metal has a larger surface area and pore diameter and smaller pore volume than Co-Mo metal impregnated to the catalyst. In fact, it was revealed that this catalyst possessed the highest catalytic activity and selectivity. Furthermore, the resulting gas products reached 64 wt.% and the distribution of biogasoline fraction of hydrocarbons (C6-C12) amounted to 83.19 wt.%.