Noble metal encapsulated sulfide catalyst for the production of aviation biofuel from the hydroprocessing of non-edible oils

Abstract

Encapsulation of noble metals inside the zeolite cage has attracted much attention in the area of catalysis due to unique properties, i.e., shape selectivity, higher activity, and product yield. In the combined work, encapsulated Platinum (Pt) inside the sodalite cage combined with sulfided nickel and molybdenum supported on silica-alumina (NiMo(S)/SiO2-Al2O3) is used to improve the catalyst hydrogenation function by providing spillover hydrogen to the nearby active sulfided NiMo sites. Encapsulation ensures the protection of the noble metal sites from poisoning due to the sulfur-containing compounds. They have a higher hydrodynamic diameter than that of the sodalite window cage. Experimental results showed platinum encapsulated sulfided nickel and molybdenum supported on silica-alumina (Pt@SOD-NiMo(S)-SiO2-Al2O3) had a substantial effect on the product composition, yield, and hydrogen consumption compared with the conventional NiMo(S)/SiO2-Al2O3 catalyst for the hydroconversion reaction of jatropha oil to produce carbon–neutral green fuels. Sustainable aviation fuel with lower aromatics and naphthene content (600 h of the run, whereas state-of-the-art reported catalyst Pt@SOD-NiMo(S)-ZSM-5 had limitations in terms of catalyst life (stable activity only for 350 h).

Keywords

• Encapsulated noble metal catalyst
• Aviation fuel
• Encapsulated metal on hydrogenation catalyst
• Sustainable aviation fuel
• Sodalite