Low-oxygenated biofuels production from palm oil through hydrocracking process using the enhanced Spent RFCC catalysts

Abstract Utilization of the enhanced Spent Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (SRFCC) catalysts through the acid treatment were conducted for the palm oil hydrocracking process to produce biofuels. The catalysts were characterized using Pyridine-probed Fourier Transform Infrared (Pyridine-FTIR) spectroscopy and Brunauer−Emmett−Teller-Barrett−Joyner−Halenda (BET-BJH) method. The higher number of Bronsted acid sites on the enhanced SRFCC catalysts leads to the lower conversion of palm oil as well as lower deoxygenation activity because of the slower carbocations formation process as the initiation reaction. On the other hand, the Lewis acid sites on the enhanced SRFCC catalysts have a significant role in the deoxygenation reaction mechanism. Meanwhile, the catalysts surface area and pore size are responsible for tailoring the diffusion mechanism of the mass transfer process of reactant molecules. The introduction of hydrogen gas in the reaction system has a significant role in deoxygenation, double bond cleavage, and de-coking process mechanisms.