Hydroprocessing of sunflower oil-gas oil blends over sulfided Ni-Mo-Al-zeolite beta composites

Abstract

Mixtures of sunflower oil and a straight run gas oil in the diesel fuel range were hydroprocessed over sulfided NiO(3%)-MoO₃(12%)-γ-Al₂O₃ incorporating 0, 15 or 30 wt. % zeolite beta (BEA). The studies were carried out at 320-350 °C; 30-60 bars, and weight hourly space velocities (WHSV), 1-4 h^-1. Catalyst containing 30% BEA achieved nearly 100 % conversion of the vegetable oil into hydrocarbons at 330 °C, 60 bars and a WHSV of 2 h^-1 compared to 95.5% by the Ni-Mo-γ-alumina catalyst without BEA. Hydroprocessing with blends containing oleic acid revealed that the catalysts were able to transform the acid into hydrocarbons. An analysis of the ratios of the n-C₁₈ and n-C₁₇ paraffins formed from the vegetable oil at different process conditions revealed that the catalyst containing 15% BEA was most active for hydrodeoxygenation. The gas oil-hydrodesulfurization activity of the Ni-Mo-Al₂O₃ was enhanced by the addition of BEA by more than 10%.