New sulfur-free catalyst enables efficient green diesel production
31 May 2024
The predominant method for industrial green diesel production involves hydrotreating technology using sulfided CoMo or NiMo catalysts. However, the maintenance of these catalysts requires continuous replenishment of the sulfur source during operation, leading to increased costs, equipment corrosion, and sulfur contamination. Hence, the quest for a non-sulfur catalytic system to enhance efficient green diesel production is paramount.
Now, researchers from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a robust P-doped NiAl-oxide catalyst with frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs). This innovative catalyst enables the efficient conversion of various feedstocks into green diesel without the need for sulfur replenishment.
Hydrotreating of soybean oil to produce green diesel over the FLPs catalyst in this work. Reaction conditions: T=350 °C, PH2=3.0 MPa, WHSV=6.0 h-1. (Image by LI Dechang)
The study, published as an open access paper in Nature Communications, reveals the capabilities of the P-doped NiAl oxide catalyst. It can continuously convert soybean oil to diesel-range hydrocarbons for 500 hours without deactivation, outperforming commercial systems with a higher weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 6.0 h-1 compared to the typical range of 0.5~3.0 h-1.
In addition, this catalytic system shows versatility in processing different feedstocks such as palm oil, duck fat, and waste cooking oil.
Dr. LI Dechang, lead author of the study, said that the industrial viability of their hydrotreating system was demonstrated by scaling up the catalyst to convert renewable oils into green diesel consistently over 1,000 hours of operation.
This study underscores the superior catalytic activity, stability, cost-effectiveness, and environmental attributes of the FLPs catalyst. With the potential to outperform conventional sulfided metal catalysts, this catalytic system heralds a more efficient and sustainable approach to green diesel production.
Resources
Li, DC., Pan, Z., Tian, Z. et al. “Frustrated Lewis pair catalyst realizes efficient green diesel production.” Nat Commun 15, 3172 (2024). doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47591-z
Adding Sulphur to aviation fuel maybe an effective method to reduce solar insolation.
Posted by: bman | 01 June 2024 at 06:17 AM
That is not what this article is about there's lots of sulfur in jet fuel
we have plenty going into the upper atmosphere that we need to eliminate.
Posted by: SJC | 01 June 2024 at 02:23 PM
No SJC There is not a lot of sulfur in jet fuel. James Hansen has explained how the removal of sulfur from maritime fuels has led to ocean warming in the north atlantic. The injection of sulfur into the upper atmosphere is the low hanging fruit of geoengineering. Not good for terrestrial transportation but could work for aviation.
Posted by: bman | 01 June 2024 at 05:10 PM