Catalytic cracking of palm oil over zeolite catalysts: Statistical approach

The catalytic cracking of palm oil was conducted in a fixed bed micro-reactor over HZSM-5, zeolite and ultrastable Y (USY) zeolite catalysts. The objective of the present investigation was to study the effect of cracking reaction variables such as temperature, weight hourly space velocity, catalyst pore size and type of palm oil feed of different molecular weight on the conversion, yield of hydrocarbons in gasoline boiling range and BTX aromatics in the organic liquid product. Statistical Design of Experiment (DOE) with 24 full factorial design was used in experimentation at the first stage. The nonlinear model and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) were utilized in the second stage of experimentation to obtain the optimum values of the variables for maximum yields of hydrocarbons in gasoline boiling range and aromatics. The HZSM-5 showed the best performance amongst the three catalysts tested. At 623 K and WHSV of 1 h-1, the highest experimental yields of gasoline and aromatics were 28.3 wt.% and 27 wt.%, respectively over the HZSM-5 catalyst. For the same catalyst, the statistical model predicted that the optimum yield of gasoline was 28.1 wt.% at WHSV of 1.75 h-1 and 623 K. The predicted optimum yield of gasoline was 25.5 wt.% at 623 K and WHSV of 1 h-1

Catalytic Cracking Of Palm Oil Into Liquid Fuels: Kinetic Study

The kinetics of the catalytic cracking of palm oil into liquid hydrocarbons are investigated and the catalytic cracking of palm oil was performed in a fixed bed microreactor, operated in the temperature range of 673 – 723 K and palm oil feed weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 1 – 4 h-1

FCC testing at bench scale: New units, new processes, new feeds

As the FCC process has evolved over decades, several laboratory scale equipment have appeared to maintain a proper assessment of catalysts activity. Several laboratory equipments are available for simulating the FCC process, from the well known fixed bed, MicroActivity Test to newer, fluid bed or transported bed units. As well, a number of units have been created to simulate other parts of the process such as regenerator or stripper, The increased pressure for treating non-conventional feeds, from reprocessing gasoline to extra-heavy feeds or oils produced from biomass containing large amounts of heteroatoms, increase the needs to have a laboratory test which is as close as possible to the process so that data extraction from the laboratory test are simplified, thus less prone to errors or misunderstanding.Financial support by MICINN (Consolider-Ingenio 2010 MULTICAT) and MINECO (Project MAT2011-29020-0O2-02 and Subprogram for excellence Severo Ochoa, SEV 2012 0267) is gratefully acknowledged.Corma Canós, A.; Sauvanaud, LL. (2013). FCC testing at bench scale: New units, new processes, new feeds. Catalysis Today. 218-219:107-114. doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2013.03.038S107114218-21

Pre-treatment of Malaysian agricultural wastes toward biofuel production

Various renewable energy technologies are under considerable interest due to the projected depletion of our primary sources of energy and global warming associated with their utilizations. One of the alternatives under focus is renewable fuels produced from agricultural wastes. Malaysia, being one of the largest producers of palm oil, generates abundant agricultural wastes such as fibers, shells, fronds, and trunks with the potential to be converted to biofuels. However, prior to conversion of these materials to useful products, pre-treatment of biomass is essential as it influences the energy utilization in the conversion process and feedstock quality. This chapter focuses on pre-treatment technology of palm-based agriculture waste prior to conversion to solid, liquid, and gas fuel. Pre-treatment methods can be classified into physical, thermal, biological, and chemicals or any combination of these methods. Selecting the most suitable pre-treatment method could be very challenging due to complexities of biomass properties. Physical treatment involves grinding and sieving of biomass into various particle sizes whereas thermal treatment consists of pyrolysis and torrefaction processes. Additionally biological and chemical treatment using enzymes and chemicals to derive lignin from biomass are also discussed