Hydrothermal Catalytic Deoxygenation of Fatty Acid and Bio-oil with In Situ H2

Fatty acid and its derivatives have recently received considerable interest as a possible precursor for producing renewable hydrocarbon. Compared to the traditional hydrotreating method that consumes a significant amount of H2, this study developed a hydrothermal catalytic deoxygenation approach that produced hydrocarbon from fatty acids and bio-oil with in situ self-sustaining H2. The presence of H2O played a critical role in the generation of in situ H2 via enhancing water–gas shift and reforming reactions, thus promoting fatty acid decarbonylation and increased paraffin yields. Both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (stearic acid (SA) and oleic acid (OA)) were employed as model compounds, where 100% conversion was achieved with 63.59% paraffin yield from SA and 47% n-paraffin yield from OA. By investigating the reaction pathway, fatty acid and glycerol reforming, and water–gas shift reactions, were determined to be the major reactions for the in situ H2 generation. Decarbonylation was found as the ...