Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.56, No.1, 75-86, 2017
Deoxygenation of Triglycerides by Catalytic Cracking with Enhanced Hydrogen Transfer Activity
The efficient use of plant oils as alternative fuels was investigated by studying triglyceride deoxygenation in catalytic cracking using a fluid catalytic cracking catalyst with enhanced hydrogen transfer activity. Unsaturated triglyceride deoxygenation was rapid and complete, but small amounts of oxygenated products such as fatty acids, ketones, and aldehydes were produced from saturated triglycerides. Reaction product analysis showed that hydrogen transfer reactions between oxygenates and hydrocarbons produced by cracking fatty acid carbon chains caused hydrodeoxygenation even in the absence of hydrogen. Catalytic cracking of triglycerides with fatty acid carbon chains of various lengths showed that triglyceride deoxygenation is not affected by steric hindrance, and probably occurs on zeolite external surfaces, whereas secondary cracking of hydrocarbons occurs On the internal surfaces. We showed that catalytic cracking can be used for efficient conversion of triglycerides to hydrocarbons in the absence of hydrogen.