Hydrodeoxygenation of methyl palmitate over sulfided Mo/Al2O3, CoMo/Al2O3 and NiMo/Al2O3 catalysts

The catalytic properties of sulfided Mo/Al2O3, CoMo/Al2O3 and NiMo/Al2O3 catalysts in the hydrodeoxygenation of methyl palmitate as a model compound for triglyceride feedstock were studied at 300 degrees C and 3.5 MPa in the batch reactor using n-tetradecane, m-xylene and hydrotreated straight-run gas oil (HT-SRGO). The comparison of catalyst's performance in n-tetradecane allowed us to see that the sulfided Mo/Al2O3, CoMo/Al2O3 and NiMo/Al2O3 catalysts revealed the same rate of the methyl palmitate conversion but the rate of the intermediate oxygenates conversion decreased in order: CoMoS/Al2O3 > NiMoS/Al2O3 > MoS2/Al2O3. A mixture of linear saturated and unsaturated C-15 and C-16 hydrocarbons was produced when the oxygenates were fully consumed. The main products obtained over the Mo/Al2O3 and CoMo/Al2O3 catalysts were C-16 hydrocarbons (C-16/C-15 - 16.1 and 2.79, respectively); however, C-15 hydrocarbons were preferentially formed over the NiMo/Al2O3 catalyst (C-16/ C-15 - 0.65), highlighting the different contributions of the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and decarboxylation/decarbonylation (DeCO(x)) pathways during the hydroconversion of methyl palmitate over these catalysts. Investigating the solvent's influence on the activity of the CoMo/Al2O3 and NiMo/Al2O3 catalysts in the methyl palmitate HDO revealed that the reaction rate was decreased in the following order: n-tetradecane > HT-SRGO > m-xylene. The aromatic compounds did not retard the methyl palmitate transformation, but inhibited the conversion of the intermediate oxygenates. Decreased C-16/C-15 ratios were observed over both catalysts when m-xylene was used as the reaction medium instead of n-tetradecane.