Performance of Ni-Cu/HZSM-5 Catalyst in Hydrocracking Process to Produce Biofuel from <i>Cerbera manghas</i> Oil

Abstract

Catalytic cracking and hydroprocessing are two processes used to convert vegetable oil into biofuel, the combination of the two processes is called the hydrocracking reaction. Bintaro oil which is non-edible oil and has a considerable oil content of 35-50% can be recommended as a source of vegetable oil that can be processed into biogasoil. Catalyst preparation was carried out using the incipient wetness impregnation method. The loading support variable HZSM-5 used is 5% and 10%, and the Ni-Cu metal ratio is 1: 2. Ni-Cu / HZSM-5 catalyst was analyzed using BET, EDX, and XRD to determine the characteristics of the catalyst. Furthermore, the hydrocracking process was carried out by mixing 2 grams of Ni-Cu / HZSM-5 catalyst and 250 ml of Bintaro oil into a stirred batch reactor at a reaction temperature of 375 °C for 2 hours. The liquid product (biofuel) produced from the hydrocracking process was analyzed using GC-MS to determine the hydrocarbon composition. The reaction routes that dominate in this study are the decarbonylation and decarboxylation reactions. This can be seen from the largest hydrocarbon composition of the biofuel products that are C15 and C17. The highest value of biofuel selectivity was obtained by loading support at 5%, namely 0.6% gasoline, 5.4% kerosene, and 92.6% gasoil.