Hydrodeoxygenation of Vegetable Oil in a Trickle Bed Reactor for Renewable Diesel Production

Abstract

The hydrodeoxygenation of vegetable oil in a trickle bed reactor for renewable diesel production was observed in this research. Vegetable oil was represented by triolein. The NiMo/Al2O3catalyst with a composition of 6.13% w/w Ni, 12.49% w/w Mo, and 81.33% w/w Al2O3 was used. The reactions took place in the temperature range of 272–327.5°C and pressures of 5 and 15 bar. A trickle bed reactor of 2.01 cm in diameter and 24 cm in bed length was able to convert triolein into renewable diesel. C18 hydrocarbons became the dominant reacting compounds at temperatures above 310°C and a pressure of 15 bar, which reached more than 50% w/w. At 5 bar pressure, fatty acids with stearic acid as the acid with the highest concentration were the dominant reacting component, reaching more than 60% w/w at temperatures above 280°C. This led to double bond saturation once the reactants were mixed.