Hydro-co-processing Jatropha oil and crude oil blend with Ni-Mo-supported Al2O3 catalyst to produce hybrid fuels: the effect of catalyst particle size

Abstract

The present research is focused on elucidating the effect of the catalyst particle size during the hydro-co-processing of a mixture of Jatropha oil and fossil crude oil at initial pressure of 60 bar, 4 h of reaction time, stirring at 700 rpm; catalyst-to-feedstock ratio of 1:20 (wt:wt); and reaction temperatures from 360 to 390 °C. Hydrodesulfurization extent was determined by using ASTM D4294; hydrodeoxygenation was accounted for using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and H-nuclear magnetic resonance; while hydrocracking was evaluated by availing simulated distillation (ASTM D2887), and also electrospray ionization mass spectrometry followed by liquid bulk density (ASTM D4052). ASPEN HYSYS was employed to account for the distillable cuts. The powder sized catalyst exhibited the highest hydrodesulfurization activity at all temperatures showing the maximum conversion of 62.6% at 390 °C. Hydrodeoxygenation conversion was almost of 100% for reaction products as evidenced by disappearance of the FTIR bands at 1168 cm⁻¹, 1710 cm⁻¹, and 1743 cm⁻¹ and further confirmed by HRMN, independently of reaction temperature and particle size. Regarding hydrocracking, the light gas oil yield was about 40% for both sizes of the catalyst particles at the four reaction temperatures, and naphtha and kerosene increased as the temperature did, disregarding particle size.