Simultaneous deoxygenation, cracking and isomerization of palm kernel oil and palm olein over beta zeolite to produce biogasoline, green diesel and biojet-fuel

Drop-in fuels have aroused great interest for automotive and aeronautical use, constituting the newest area of biofuel research. These fuels do not contain oxygen, like fossil fuels, and require no modifications to engines and distribution infrastructure. In this work, biohydrocarbons were obtained in the distillation ranges of gasoline, diesel and aviation kerosene from palm kernel oil and palm olein in the form of triglycerides or their hydrolysates. A 15% ratio of the thermally activated HBeta zeolite catalyst to the mass of the fatty material was used. Deoxygenation reactions (5 h, 800 rpm, batch reactor) occurred at 350 °C under 10 bar H2 atmosphere to furnish as much as 96% conversion to liquid hydrocarbons. The products were analyzed by FTIR for a rapid quantification of the deoxygenation efficiency using a method developed for this purpose. These products were also characterized by thermal analysis and GC–MS. The freezing temperatures of the biohydrocarbons and their mixtures with fossil aviation kerosene were determined by DSC. The results obtained were very promising, especially considering the relatively mild process conditions as low H2 pressure and catalyst without noble metal and with high reusability.