Effect of Size and Distribution of Ni Nanoparticles on γ-Al2O3 in Oleic Acid Hydrodeoxygenation to Produce n-Alkanes

• Main Authors: Manuel Sánchez-Cárdenas, Jorge Medina-Valtierra, Sathish-Kumar Kamaraj, Rodolfo Rafael Medina Ramírez, Luis Antonio Sánchez-Olmos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-10-01
• Series: Catalysts
• Subjects: Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts; oleic acid hydrodeoxygenation; n-C17 alkane; statistical analysis; response surfaces
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/6/10/156

To contribute to the search for an oxygen-free biodiesel from vegetable oil, a process based in the oleic acid hydrodeoxygenation over Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts was performed. In this work different wt % of Ni nanoparticles were prepared by wetness impregnation and tested as catalytic phases. Oleic acid was used as a model molecule for biodiesel production due to its high proportion in vegetable oils used in food and agro-industrial processes. A theoretical model to optimize yield of n-C17 was developed using size, distribution, and wt % of Ni nanoparticles (NPs) as additional factors besides operational conditions such as temperature and reaction time. These mathematical models related to response surfaces plots predict a higher yield of n-C17 when physical parameters of Ni NPs are suitable. It can be of particular interest that the model components have a high interaction with operation conditions for the n-C17 yields, with the size, distribution, and wt % of Ni NPs being the most significant. A combination of these factors statistically pointed out those conditions that create a maximum yield of alkanes; these proved to be affordable for producing biodiesel from this catalytic environmental process.