Catalysis Today, Vol.198, No.1, 314-320, 2012
Jatropha-oil conversion to liquid hydrocarbon fuels using mesoporous titanosilicate supported sulfide catalysts
Titanosilicates with 3D-wormhole-like mesoporosity were used as support for hydroprocessing catalysts to increase the triglyceride (jatropha oil) deoxygenation and cracking activity of sulfided Ni-Mo and Co-Mo catalysts. Mesoporous titanosilicate supported Co-Mo catalyst showed improved performance in terms of higher yield of kerosene (jet-fuel) range hydrocarbons, 5-times more isomerized product and slightly improved activity than the traditional alumina supported catalyst. Higher acidity, better metal dispersion and favorable metal-support interactions could be attributed to the improved performance of the former. Among the mesoporous titanosilicate supported catalysts, sulfided Ni-Mo was more active than the Co-Mo catalyst (at lower temperature, 300 degrees C, 4-8 h(-1)) but with high selectivity for oligomeric products. But at higher temperatures the Co-Mo catalytic system showed comparable activities with increased yield of cracked products and the heavy range fraction. Response surface plots indicated that there was a combined effect of space velocity and temperature on the conversion at lower temperatures (300 degrees C), which was less prominent at higher temperatures (>330 degrees C). Kinetic model fitting results at lower temperatures (300-320 degrees C) indicated direct conversion of triglycerides to deoxygenated products along with oligomeric and cracked products formation with no internal conversions between the products indicated. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.