Junming Xu

Production of hydrocarbon fuels from pyrolysis of soybean oils using a basic catalyst.

Triglycerides obtained from animals and plants have attracted great attention from researchers for developing an environmental friendly and high-quality fuel, free of nitrogen and sulfur. In the present work, the production of biofuel by catalytic cracking of soybean oil over a basic catalyst in a continuous pyrolysis reactor at atmospheric pressure has been studied. Experiments were designed to study the effect of different types of catalysts on the yield and acid value of the diesel and gasoline fractions from the pyrolytic oil. It was found that basic catalyst gave a product with relatively low acid number. These pyrolytic oils were also further reacted with alcohol in order to decrease their acid value. After esterification, the physico-chemical properties of these biofuels were characterized, and compared with Chinese specifications for conventional diesel fuels. The results showed that esterification of pyrolytic oil from triglycerides represents an alternative technique for producing biofuels from soybean oils with characteristics similar to those of petroleum fuels.

Biofuel production from catalytic cracking of woody oils.

The catalytic cracking reactions of several kinds of woody oils have been studied. The products were analyzed by GC-MS and FTIR and show the formation of olefins, paraffins and carboxylic acids. Several kinds of catalysts were compared. It was found that the fraction distribution of product was modified by using base catalysts such as CaO. The products from woody oils showed good cold flow properties compared with diesel used in China. The results presented in this work have shown that the catalytic cracking of woody oils generates fuels that have physical and chemical properties comparable to those specified for petroleum based fuels.

Diesel-like fuel obtained by pyrolysis and esterification post-treatment of tung oil

Processes of pyrolysis and esterification post-treatment of tung oil have been studied. Some reaction conditions of pyrolysis and several kinds of catalysts of esterification were compared. It was found that the fraction distribution of product was modified by pyrolysis and esterification. From the results of SEC, FIIR and GC-MS measurements, the products were determined to consist of alkanes, alkenes and fatty acid methyl ester of short chains and lower average molecular weight. The physical and chemical properties of products were also detected close to those specified for petroleum based fuels.