Evaluation of Zeolite-based Catalyst Supports for the Production of Biokerosene by Hydrotreating of Oils

Abstract

In order to optimize the conditions for the biofuels production by a hydrotreatment process, three platinum catalysts supported on different zeolites were evaluated. The three zeolites used for the hydrotreatment of soybean oil were USY (CBV-780), H-? and ZSM-5, impregnated with 1 % platinum salt solution. The functional groups of the catalysts were analyzed by infrared transmission spectroscopy, the condition of the pores by scanning electron microscopy and, X-ray diffraction was employed to determine the crystal structure. Subsequently, these catalysts were employed to hydrotreat some soybean oil samples of 80 mL, in a 300 mL reactor, operating at 525 K, 2500 kPa, and a H₂/N₂ molar ratio of 30 % for 6 h. Some gas chromatography analyses carried out over the synthesized biofuels evidenced that Zeolite H-? presents the best characteristics for the production of a biofuel with the most similar properties to the currently employed fossil fuels.