Hydrotreating of Jatropha Oil over Alumina Based Catalysts

Hydrotreatment of nonedible jatropha oils over PtPd/Al2O3 catalyst and NiMoP/Al2O3 catalysts was investigated under conditions of 330-390 degrees C, 3 MPa and 2 h(-1) in a fixed-bed reactor. A significantly high yield range of about 82 wt % of liquid hydrocarbon products was achieved over all catalysts. Moreover, the liquid hydrocarbon products have low acid number, suitable density and viscosity, and quite high cetane index. The oil can be a high-performance additive for diesel oil. The oxygen removal pathway of jatropha oil over PtPd/Al2O3 catalyst is primarily compiled through decarboxylation and/or decarbonylation, but over NiMoP/Al2O3 catalysts, the oxygen removal pathways are executed primarily by hydro-deoxygenation. A long-term experiment was conducted over catalyst A (NiMoP/Al2O3). Results show that catalyst A starts deactivation from reaction time of 120 h. The sulfide catalyst conversion to oxide catalyst is regarded as the main reason for deactivation. The deactivated catalyst can be reused after regeneration treatment.