Renewable Jet Fuel from Kerosene/Coconut Oil Mixtures with Catalytic Hydrogenation

Abstract

Due to the increasing volume of air transportation, the demand for jet fuels has grown significantly in the past decade. Hydrocarbon processing companies and different research groups began investigating the possible production routes of suitable kerosene fractions in order to produce fuel for jet engines not only on a crude oil basis but also from alternative sources, too. The Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation program will be started in the near future with the target to decrease the carbon dioxide emissions of aviation significantly. This carbon dioxide reduction can only be achieved when using jet fuels derived from alternative sources. The aim of this experimental work was to study the catalytic conversion of waste coconut oil which was mixed in straight-run kerosene fractions at 10, 30, and 50% to produce an alternative component containing jet fuel at various process parameters (temperature = 280–360 °C, liquid hourly space velocity = 1.0–3.0 h–1, pressure = 30 bar, hydrogen/feedstock volume ratio = 600 N m3/m3) on a sulfided nickel molybdenum/alumina catalyst. Based on the experimental results, the yield of the target product changed between 65 and 95% depending on the rate of desulfurization, deoxygenation, and aromatic saturation. The target products had a very high smoke point (>40 mm) resulting in very low particle emissions during the use of this biojet fuel.

Biodiesel and green diesel generation: an overview

“…As with conventional bio-diesel, some precipitation of paraffins from the renewable diesel may take place if the temperature is below cloud point for a long period. It is recommended to store all diesel fuels above cloud point [83]. Due to the influence of high cetane and low density, CI engines are more widely used.…”

Catalytic Production of Jet Fuels from Biomass

“…This route has been successfully adapted to transform oxygenated feedstocks such as vegetable oils into hydrocarbon fuels in the diesel and jet range, and a large number of works have been described in the literature in the last few years [37][38][39]. While excellent Catalysts used for the hydrotreating of vegetable oils include noble metal-supported materials and, to a greater extent, alumina-supported metal (e.g., Co, Mo, Ni, W) sulfides similar to those used in the petrochemical industry for the removal of heteroatoms such as nitrogen or sulfur [16][17][18][19]. The acid sites required to carry out the dehydration and HDC reactions are normally provided by the support [20], while hydrogenation reactions are carried out over the metal moiety.…”

Catalytic pyrolysis of coconut oil with Ni/SBA-15 for the production of bio jet fuel

“…8 The positivity in the use of renewable sources is related to their high abundance on Earth, the possibility of recycling CO 2 reducing the concentration of this gas in the atmosphere, and decreasing dependence on crude oil. 9,10 Given this scenario, several researchers have reported obtaining aviation biofuel using vegetable oils, among other biomasses, such as conducted by Lin and colleagues 11 investigating palm oil and Wagutu and collaborators 12 investigating croton, jatropha and coconut oils. Oil from coconut (Coco nucifera) stands out for having great potential for the production of aviation biofuel since its seed contains a high oil yield (63 to 65%) and its composition has a high proportion of fatty acids with chains in the range of C8 to C12, such as lauric acid and myristic acid, which are within the hydrocarbon range of aviation biofuels.…”

“…8 The positivity in the use of renewable sources is related to their high abundance on Earth, the possibility of recycling CO 2 reducing the concentration of this gas in the atmosphere, and decreasing dependence on crude oil. 9,10…”