Porous Biochar Supported Transition Metal Phosphide Catalysts for Hydrocracking of Palm Oil to Bio-Jet Fuel

The upgrading of plant-based oils to liquid transportation fuels through the hydrotreating process has become the most attractive and promising technical pathway for producing biofuels. This work produced bio-jet fuel (C-9-C-14 hydrocarbons) from palm olein oil through hydrocracking over varied metal phosphide supported on porous biochar catalysts. Relative metal phosphide catalysts were investigated for the highest performance for bio-jet fuel production. The palm oil's fiber-derived porous biochar (PFC) revealed its high potential as a catalyst supporter. A series of PFC-supported cobalt, nickel, iron, and molybdenum metal phosphides (Co-P/PFC, Ni-P/PFC, Fe-P/PFC, and Mo-P/PFC) catalysts with a metal-loading content of 10 wt.% were synthesized by wet-impregnation and a reduction process. The performance of the prepared catalysts was tested for palm oil hydrocracking in a trickle-bed continuous flow reactor under fixed conditions; a reaction temperature of 420 degrees C, LHSV of 1 h(-1), and H-2 pressure of 50 bar was found. The Fe-P/PFC catalyst represented the highest hydrocracking performance based on 100% conversion with 94.6% bio-jet selectivity due to its higher active phase dispersion along with high acidity, which is higher than other synthesized catalysts. Moreover, the Fe-P/PFC catalyst was found to be the most selective to C-9 (35.4%) and C-10 (37.6%) hydrocarbons.

Automated summary

The hydrotreating process of plant-based oils to liquid transportation fuels is a promising pathway for biofuel production. This study successfully produced bio-jet fuel from palm olein oil using metal phosphide supported on porous biochar catalysts, with iron phosphide catalyst showing the highest performance and selectivity. The results suggest the potential of using palm oil fiber-derived porous biochar as a catalyst supporter for biofuel production.