Hydrodeoxygenation of fatty acid methyl ester in gas oil blend-NiMoS/alumina catalyst

Abstract

Hydrotreating of 10% fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) blended in gas oil was carried out by an NiMo-S/alumina catalyst and performed at an elevated temperature (300-400°C), a space velocity of 0.7-1.5 1/h and pressure 5 MPa. The gas oil was a straight run North Sea crude oil containing 295 ppm sulfur content which was desulfurized in a hydrotreating upgrading process. The physicochemical properties following hydroprocessing of FAME showed that sulfur content was reduced to 3 ppmw, with an increase in aromatic content and cloud point. It was confirmed that decarboxylation depends on temperature and space velocity and decarbonylation depends on temperature, but not on space velocity of feed. High sulfur content in the feedstock supports slow deactivation of the catalyst and low coke formation.