Effective and sustainable LCO upgrading using distillation and co-hydroprocessing with waste cooking oil

The technology of distillation and the technology of co-hydroprocessing with liquid biomass are combined for a more effective and sustainable LCO upgrading. The first technology is to separate the LCO hydrocarbons via distillation to obtain the fraction with boiling point up to 350 degrees C, rendering a light LCO fraction (LCO_cut). The second technology involves the integration of the LCO_cut with Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) towards a joined hydrotreatment step. The choice of the two aforementioned technologies is based on the claim that the distillation will exempt LCO from refractory properties and the co-hydroprocessing with WCO will led to a paraffinic product that could approach diesel fuel quality. The results show that concerning sulfur content, an improvement presented in the case of LCO_cut/ WCO product in comparison with the corresponding ones of LCO/ WCO. Moreover, the LCO_cut/ WCO product of the intermediate temperature presented the optimal aromatic content, density and cetane number in comparison with the corresponding ones of LCO/ WCO. In summary, the two degraded feedstocks; LCO and WCO, are converted to improved products, indicating the potential of integrating these feedstocks within a refinery.

Automated summary

The combination of distillation technology and co-hydroprocessing with liquid biomass enables more effective and sustainable upgrading of Light Cycle Oil (LCO). The choice of these technologies results in improved products from degraded feedstocks, demonstrating the potential for integrating these feedstocks within a refinery.