BIOFUEL PRODUCTION FROM THERMOCATALYTIC PROCESSING OF VEGETABLE OILS: A REVIEW

With the worsening environmental problems caused by the greenhouse effect, the study of fuel alternatives generated by non-fossil sources has intensified. The incorporation of biodiesel (mono-ester of triglycerides) to petroleum diesel is an example of commercial application for reduction in the emission of fossil CO2 and SOx and NOx as well. in this context, the generation of mixture of hydrocarbons for catalytic cracking of vegetable oils combines the advantages of the Transesterification process to generate compounds such as petroleum-derived fuels such as: gasoline, kerosene and diesel. This review presents current trends in scientific literature for biofuels from thermal (pyrolysis) and catalytic processing. For the pyrolysis it has been described the temperatures use to obtain the fuel in the diesel range. the catalytic processing involves the heterogeneous catalysts used in the processing crude oil and the conditions of temperature and pressure. in conclusion it is showed that the cracking catalytic process allows chose what fuel does one want simply changing the catalytic that is used.