The
Ni/Co-natural clay catalysts have been prepared for the conversion
of algae oil into diesel-grade hydrocarbons. Methyl oleate was used
as a model compound for the present study. Ni/clay catalyst promotes
decarboxylation/decarbonylation, whereas remarkable selectivity in
hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is achieved with Co/clay catalysts. Powder
XRD and DRS studies of substrate mixed catalysts reveal a more prominent
adsorption of substrate molecules over the Ni surface, which results
in low HDO selectivity of nickel catalysts by surpassing the essential
contribution of acidic sites. The HDO process provides higher carbon
atom economy and energy value over decarboxylation/decarbonylation,
while further reducing the formation of greenhouse gases such as CO2 and CH4. Total yield of saturated hydrocarbons
from algae oil was 84–86 wt % with similar selectivity. The
HDO rates of different fatty acids present in algae oil were independent
of the fatty acid chain length. The catalysts are cost-effective and
recyclable, and metal leaching during hydroprocessing is less than
1 ppm in all cases. This process is advantageous in terms of metal-to-substrate
ratio, use of solvents and their concentration, and comparable HDO
selectivity over the previously reported catalysts. A hydroprocessing
reaction was also performed under solvent free conditions, which could
be useful in industrial applications of this approach.
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