Hydrogenation of rapeseed oil for production of liquid bio-chemicals

The main objective of rapeseed oil hydrogenation tests was the production of liquid bio-chemicals to be used as renewable raw material for the production of several chemicals and in chemical synthesis to substitute petroleum derived stuff. As, hydrogenation of vegetable oils is already applied for the production of biofuels, the work done focused in producing aromatic compounds, due to their economic value. The effect of experimental conditions on rapeseed oil hydrogenation was studied, namely, reaction temperature and time with the aim of selecting the most favourable conditions to convert rapeseed oil into liquid valuable bio-chemicals. Rapeseed oil was hydrogenated at a hydrogen initial pressure of 1.10MPa. Reaction temperature varied in the range from 200°C to 400°C, while reaction times between 6 and 180min were tested. The performance of a commercial cobalt and molybdenum catalyst was also studied. The highest hydrocarbons yields were obtained at the highest temperature and reaction times tested. At a temperature of 400°C and at the reaction time of 120min hydrocarbons yield was about 92% in catalyst presence, while in the absence of the catalyst this value decreased to 85%. Hydrocarbons yield was even higher when the reaction time of 180min was used in the presence of catalyst, as the yield of 97% was observed. At these conditions hydrocarbons formed had a high content of aromatic compounds, around 50%. For this reason, the viscosity values of hydrogenated oils were lower than that established by EN590, which together with hydrogenated liquids composition prevented its use as direct liquid fuel to substitute fossil gas oil for transport sector. However, hydrocarbons analysis showed the presence of several valuable compounds that encourages their use as a raw material for the production of several chemicals and in chemical synthesis.