Fuel Production from Triglycerides Containing Gas Oils

Abstract

Lately the development and the use of energy sources which are of bio-origin are required. The engine fuels have special importance. Based on their origin they can be conventional, alternative or conventional + alternative. Biofuels which can be produced from biomass, thus from a renewable energy source, are alternative fuels. The objective of our research work was to investigate the production of diesel fuel with excellent quality and/or of diesel fuel blending component by heterogeneous catalytic conversion of gas oil fraction containing 75% sunflower oil. Furthermore, our aim was to determine the advantageous process parameters (temperature, pressure, liquid hourly space velocity, hydrogen/hydrocarbon ratio) during application of the selected NiMo/Al2O3 catalyst. Based on the results obtained we determined that the main properties of these products were significantly better compared to the feed as diesel fuel components. The products which were made under desired combination of process parameters (T=350–380 °C; p=80 bar; LHSV=1.0–1.5 h-1; H2/feed ratio: 600 Nm3/m3) had lower than 10 mg/kg sulphur and nitrogen content, and the cetane numbers were significantly higher than it is specified in the MSZ EN 590:2009 standard (minimum 51).