The production of high-quality biofuel from waste oil

Molecular structural modification was a critical step for the production of high-quality biofuel. In this study, it was found that catalytic cracking followed by product isomerization is an effective technology to convert waste oil into low CFPP and high-quality biofuel. The detailed catalyst characterization was conducted by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), NH3-temperature programmed desorption (NH3-TPD), H-2-temperature programmed reduction (H-2-TPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), pyridine-adsorbed Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (Py-FTIR) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis. With the addition of Ce into the Ni/SAPO-11 catalyst, the occurrence of the hydro-cracking reaction was restrained efficiently, and (20 + 1)% NiCe/SAPO-11 was considered as the optimal catalyst for the hydro-isomerization study. Under the action of the bimetallic catalyst, the isomerization reaction could be carried out at low reaction temperature (340 degrees C) because of the high olefin content (approximately 43%) in pyrolytic oils. Comparison of physical and chemical properties for the hydro-isomerization of pyrolytic oil catalyzed over NiCe/SAPO-11 and Pt/SAPO-11 was conducted. For the two catalysts, the product fuel revealed excellent properties, which abided by the established EN and ASTM standards.