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Title: Renewable diesel and bio-aromatics production from waste cooking oil using ethanol as a hydrogen donor in deoxygenation reaction

Journal Article · · Chemical Engineering Journal
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [4];  [5]; ORCiD logo [6];  [4]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [8]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Silpakorn University (Thailand); Auburn Univ., AL (United States)
  2. Auburn Univ., AL (United States)
  3. Auburn Univ., AL (United States); Kasetsart University, Bangkok (Thailand)
  4. Lehigh Univ., Bethlehem, PA (United States)
  5. University of Pau and the Adour Region (France)
  6. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)
  7. Silpakorn University (Thailand)
  8. Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand)

Biofuels offer a promising solution in the fight against climate change. With a global increase in waste cooking oil, this research investigated the production of bio-hydrogenated diesel (BHD) from waste cooking oil, using ethanol as a hydrogen donor in the deoxygenation process. A hydrolyzed waste cooking oil model compound served as the feedstock, and the deoxygenation was performed at 300–400 °C. The catalysts used in the experiments were 2.6 wt% Ni and 7.8 wt% Mo (2.6Ni-7.8Mo) and 10 wt% Ni and 5 wt% Mo (10Ni-5Mo) on γ-Al2O3. The results showed that ethanol is an effective hydrogen donor for biofuel production without the need for external hydrogen at an elevated pressure. The increasing temperature enhanced the free fatty acid (FFA) conversion and n-alkane selectivity in the oil product, with the highest FFA conversion and alkane selectivity of 100 % and 46 %, respectively, observed at 400 °C for the sulfided 10Ni-5Mo catalyst. On the other hand, 2.6Ni-7.8Mo offers 100 % FFA conversion with a lower n-alkane selectivity of 35 % at identical temperatures. The total acid number (TAN) of the oil products decreased from 174.03 mg KOH/g of feedstock to 9.43 and 8.67 mg KOH/g with the sulfided 2.6Ni-7.8Mo and 10Ni-5Mo catalysts, respectively. Both the catalysts achieved similar heating values (~43 MJ/kg) at 400 °C. This is a significant improvement to the HHV of the feedstock, which was 36.02 MJ/kg. Additionally, aromatic compounds, mainly BTXE (benzene, toluene, xylene, and ethylbenzene), were also produced. Compared to glycerol as a hydrogen donor, ethanol more effectively increased n-alkane selectivity due to its higher effective hydrogen-to-carbon ratio (H/Ceff). Conversely, glycerol was more advantageous for achieving greater selectivity towards BTXE compounds due to its lower H/Ceff, which potentially leads to coke formation. Since aromatic compounds are intermediates in coke production, glycerol provides higher aromatic selectivity than ethanol. Finally, this study presents an alternative pathway for producing diesel fuel from waste cooking oil using ethanol as a hydrogen donor.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704
OSTI ID:
2555711
Report Number(s):
BNL--228002-2025-JAAM
Journal Information:
Chemical Engineering Journal, Journal Name: Chemical Engineering Journal Vol. 509; ISSN 1385-8947
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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