Preparation of MCM-41-supported Pd–Pt catalysts with enhanced activity and sulfur resistance for partial hydrogenation of soybean oil-derived biodiesel fuel

Abstract MCM-41-supported bimetallic Pd-Pt prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation method were applied as hydrotreating catalysts for the partial hydrogenation of soybean oil-derived biodiesel into partially hydrogenated fatty acid methyl esters (H-FAME) for use in high blends. The catalytic performance and sulfur resistance of the prepared Pd-Pt/MCM-41 catalysts were strongly associated with the Pd/Pt weight ratio. When H-FAME was synthesized at 100 °C and 0.4 MPa of H2 for 4 h, the 1 wt.% Pd-Pt/MCM-41 (1:1) showed high hydrogenation activity (turnover frequency of 195 h−1 and rate constant of 3.97 × 10−1 h−1gcat−1) with the lowest degree of oversaturation of 4.8 at high conversion of C18:2, and strong resistance to the sulfur species as a poison added to the feedstock. Their high catalytic performance should be related to the suitable size of bimetallic Pd-Pt nanoparticles with a balance of electronic properties, which is supported by the X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results.