The Effect of Variation in Temperature and Duration on Deoxygenation and Cracking Reaction of RPO in Bioavtur

Abstract

Vegetable oils can be converted into bioavtur because they have triglycerides that can be converted through deoxygenation and cracking into bioavtur hydrocarbon. Refined Palm Oil (RPO) is also vegetable triglyceride that may be converted into bioavtur by similar mechanism. This study aims to convert RPO into hydrocarbons equal to avtur through deoxygenation and cracking with various temperature and reaction duration. In the preliminary research, RPO was made from degumming process of CPO, heated with solid catalyst NiMo in a reactor at temperature of 300, 400 and 450 oC, with addition of hydrogen at pressure of 50 bar and stirring for 5 h with sampling every hour to obtain the suitable temperature conditions. At principal research, the same reaction was conducted at selected temperature conditions with sampling every 30 minutes after initial heating for 1 h. Observation was conducted for parameters density, phase change at low temperatures (-15 and -55 oC), GC-MS and FTIR analysis. Preliminary research showed that only at temperature of 450 oC, the product had liquid phase up to -55 oC and the density equal to jet fuel. At this temperature condition (450 oC ), the results showed that the best deoxygenation and cracking reaction was at pressure of 50 bar, in 3 h duration. The physical properties of the products were having the best deoxygenation reaction, having similar properties with aviation fuel, and density of 0.8105 g/cm3, still on liquid phase at low temperature up to -55 oC with the composition of mostly C7 - C12 hydrocarbons.