Hidrogenación de aceite crudo de jatropha para aplicaciones industriales

Abstract

Hydrogenation of crude Jatropha oil using two commercial catalysts nickel/silica and nickel/alumina was studied. An experimental design 2 was carried out, including the variables temperature, pressure and content of catalyst. Oil and their reaction products were characterized by measuring composition and acid value, saponification and iodine. The catalysts were characterized by BET area, FT-IR, TPR and TGA. Among the most relevant results are: A) The catalyst nickel/silica showed higher activity, possibly due to its larger surface area, which could favor the dispersion of nickel; b) high stability to oxidation by catalyst nickel/silica was found, which gives a high degree of reuse; c) a product with hydrogenation greater than 98% with the potential to apply in textile lubricants, softening additives, among others.