Catalytic deoxygenation of triglycerides to green diesel over modified CaO-based catalysts

Abstract

Renewable fuel is a promising alternative as a petroleum replacement in view of the current worldwide demand for petroleum fuel, which is catching up with the world's petroleum supply. In the present study, gasoline and diesel-range hydrocarbons were derived from triolein via a deoxygenation process. The deoxygenation of triolein was performed using waste clamshell-derived CaO supported by active promoters (binary metal oxide systems: Ni-CaO, Zn-CaO, Fe-CaO and Co-CaO). Based on the catalytic activity study, the highest degree of deoxygenation via deCOx reaction (decarboxylation/decarbonylation) was achieved in the presence of the strong acid-base bifunctional Co-CaO catalyst. A Box-Behnken optimization study was performed to study the effect of 3 operating parameters: catalyst loading (3-7 wt%), reaction temperature (300-360 °C) and reaction time (60-120 min). The present study has indicated that the maximum hydrocarbon yield (56%) was achieved under optimized deoxygenation conditions of 5 wt% of catalyst, 340 °C within 105 min, and the interaction effect between reaction temperature and time rendered a significant effect towards the deoxygenation activity.