Improving conversion of methyl palmitate to diesel-like fuel through catalytic deoxygenation with B2O3-modified ZrO2

Abstract There is growing interest about the conversion of lipids to renewable fuels as the alternatives of traditional petroleum. However, the development of efficient catalysts from readily available materials is still challenging. In this study, we demonstrated that the generation of diesel-like fuel from methyl palmitate (MP) through catalytic deoxygenation could be significantly promoted by modifying the ZrO2 support with B2O3, a cheap and readily available non-metal oxide. Characterization results showed that the attaching boron atom to the framework of ZrO2 support to form the B-O-Zr interconnection significantly increased the acidic site concentration. The enhanced acidity of B2O3/ZrO2 catalysts afforded the improved efficiency for MP deoxygenation, and the maximum activity was obtained at a B/Zr molar ratio of 1/5 with the MP conversion of 86.6% and liquid yield of 69.3%. The effect of reaction temperature and H2 pressure on the MP deoxygenation performance of B2O3/ZrO2 catalysts were also evaluated systematically. Combining the catalytic and spectroscopic data, it revealed that the MP was firstly adsorbed at the oxygen vacancies of m-ZrO2 and then converted to