Hydrocracking of waste chicken fat as a cost effective feedstock for renewable fuel production: A kinetic study

In this study, low cost waste chicken fat (WCF) feedstock was used for fuel-like hydrocarbon production. The effects of varying reaction parameters on the hydrocracking of waste chicken fat using NiW/SiO2–Al2O3 catalyst were investigated. The reactions were carried out in a fixed bed down flow reactor at reaction temperatures of 400–450 °C, liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) of 1, 2, 4 h−1, H2/oil molar ratio of 450 v/v and hydrogen pressures of 6.0 MPa. The effects on hydrocracking conversion and distribution of products were investigated. The liquid product was analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) to quantify n-alkanes. Hydrocracking conversion and organic liquid products (OLPs) were evaluated by ASTM D-2887 distillation. The results showed that the catalytic hydrocracking of WCF generates fuels that have chemical and physical properties comparable to those specified for petroleum-based fuels. The amount of kerosene/diesel fractional product decreased with an increase in the temperature and a decrease in the LHSV; while gasoline like petroleum fuel increased. A considerable elimination of O2 from chicken waste fat molecules has been indicated by FTIR analysis. The oxygen removal pathway of WCF over NiW/SiO2–Al2O3 catalyst is primarily carried out by hydro-deoxygenation. The reaction was found to follow the second order mechanism, and the estimated activation energy Ea was 96 kJ mol−1. The exploited catalyst was employed in another run where the results showed the catalyst stability and can be used for several times

Glycolysis of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Catalyzed by the Lewis Base Ionic Liquid [Bmim][OAc]

The glycolysis of poly­(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) was studied using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Bmim]­[OAc]) as a catalyst. The effects of temperature, time, ethylene glycol dosage, PET amount, and [Bmim]­[OAc] dosage on the glycolysis reaction were examined. The results revealed that [Bmim]­[OAc] has a PET conversion of 100% and a bis­(2-hydroxyethyl)­terephthalate (BHET) yield of 58.2% under the optimum conditions of 1.0 g of [Bmim]­[OAc] with 20 g of ethylene glycol in the presence of 3.0 g of PET at 190 °C after 3 h of glycolysis. The ionic liquid could be reused up to six times with no apparent decrease in the conversion of PET or yield of BHET. The pH plays a major role in explaining the proposed mechanism of glycolysis using the Lewis base ionic liquid [Bmim]­[OAc]. The kinetics of the reaction was first-order with an activation energy of 58.53 kJ/mol