Production of activated carbonaceous catalyst for their application in bio jet-fuel synthesis

Abstract

Recently, research and development in alternative aviation fuel to replace fossil-based fuel has been of interest for many research works. Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is one of the most efficient processes to produce clean fuel. This study involves the synthesis of activated carbon (AC) from heavy fuel oil (HFO) via the carbonization-chemical activation process for utilization as catalyst support. AC with a high surface area of 1527.4 m2/g was obtained from KOH-activation in the ratio of 1:1 and carbonization temperature of 700°C. The molybdenum phosphide (MoP) catalyst impregnated on AC was prepared via the wet impregnation process. The microscopic analysis revealed the uniform dispersion of MoP nanoparticles on AC. The performance of the catalyst was evaluated by the HDO of palm oil to produce jet fuel. The MoP loading of 5 wt% and reaction temperature of 420°C could provide the resultant catalyst with the best activity, resulted in oil conversion of 100%. The typical liquid HC product contained 9.6 and 90.4% of green diesel and bio jet-oil, respectively. Furthermore, the catalyst presented good stability even employed for 12 h without significant deactivation.