In this study, the synergistic effect of Fe on monometallic 5–15 wt. % Cu/SiO2-Al2O3 catalysts was ascertained by varying 1–5 wt. % Fe contents on the optimized 13 wt. %Cu/SiO2-Al2O3 catalyst. The highest jet fuel range hydrocarbons selectivity of 73.6% were recorded for the most promising Fe(3)-Cu(13)/SiO2-Al2O3 catalyst evaluated at 300 °C and 2.07 MPa H2 pressure, which can be attributed to its desirable textural properties, mild Bronsted acid sites confirmed pyridine FTIR analysis, high metal dispersion revealed from CO chemisorption analysis and TPR analysis. The synergistic effects of 1 wt.% Ti, 1 wt.% Zr, and 0.5-2 wt.% Sn on the promising bimetallic catalyst (Fe(3)-Cu(13)/SiO2-Al2O3) were also ascertained through extensive characterization and their subsequent evaluation to produce jet fuel range hydrocarbons via hydroprocessing of oleic acid. Hydroprocessing of oleic acid using catalyst containing 1 wt.% Sn at T=320°C, H2 pressure = 2.1 MPa, and time = 8 h, resulted in the highest jet fuel range hydrocarbons selectivity of 76.8% due to its high metal dispersion (revealed from its smallest crystallite size of 5.1 nm and its weakest metal-support interaction), desirable textural properties (revealed from its largest surface area of 571 m2/g and highest pore volume of 0.65 cm3/g). Maximization of oleic acid conversion and selectivity of jet fuel range hydrocarbons over the most promising trimetallic catalyst (1wt. % Sn promoted Fe(3)-Cu(13)/SiO2-Al2O3) with the best combination of the process parameters involved and evaluation of kinetic parameters were studied. Reaction temperature of 339.5 oC, 1.6 MPa H2 pressure, 6.2 wt.% catalyst concentration and 8.0 h reaction time were found to be the optimum process parameters that can maximize oleic acid conversion and selectivity of jet fuel range hydrocarbons at 98.2 % and 82.2 %, respectively. The activation energy of the reaction was evaluated as 50.7 KJ/mol. Process simulation and technoeconomic analysis of greenseed canola derived jet fuel range hydrocarbons were carried out using a SuperPro design software. 79,200 MT/year of oleic acid (model compound of greenseed canola oil) was hydroprocessed with 1.6 MPa of hydrogen gas over the 1 wt. % Sn promoted trimetallic catalyst to produce 59,345 MT/year jet fuel range hydrocarbons of 99.5 wt. % purity with net annual profit of 1.25 million dollars and 38.46 % return on investment.

Novel catalysts development for production of jet fuel range hydrocarbons from vegetable oils

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.