Recent Development of Renewable Diesel Production Using Bimetallic Catalysts

Saifuddin Nomanbhay,Kuan Shiong Khoo,Kit Wayne Chew,Mei Yin Ong,Hassan Karimi-Maleh,Pau Loke Show,Shir Reen Chia

doi:10.3389/fenrg.2021.769485

Abstract

Renewable diesel as a potential sustainable energy source in future requires catalysts to convert the feedstocks into end products. Among various type of catalysts, bimetallic catalysts are widely applied in the renewable diesel production due to their unique catalytic properties and enhanced catalytic activities, which differ from their parent monometallic catalysts. This mini review comprised of the brief introduction on technologies in producing renewable diesel and aims to discuss the underneath knowledge of synergistic interactions in bimetallic catalysts that synthesized through various techniques. The novelty of this review reveals the recent development of renewable diesel production, highlighting the mechanisms of bimetallic catalysts in the enhancement of the catalytic activity, and exploring their possibilities as practical solution in industrial production.

Highlights

Increment of population, industrial activities and hazardous gas emissions has urged the world to explore potential solution in shifting main energy sources to renewable energy due to the huge energy demand (Mofijur et al, 2013a; Peter et al, 2021)
Noble metal catalysts such as Pd and Pt are applied due to high selectivity to deoxygenation reaction, but their expensive and scarcity have limited their availability for commercial scale of renewable diesel (RD) production
Bimetallic catalysts are known for their synergistic effect that leads by combinations of various metals to a new feature of catalyst

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Industrial activities and hazardous gas emissions has urged the world to explore potential solution in shifting main energy sources to renewable energy due to the huge energy demand (Mofijur et al, 2013a; Peter et al, 2021). The production often involves catalytic processes that are governed by catalysts. Noble metal catalysts such as Pd and Pt are applied due to high selectivity to deoxygenation reaction, but their expensive and scarcity have limited their availability for commercial scale of RD production. The combination of noble metals with low-cost metals forms bimetallic catalysts that can enhance the catalytic properties of catalysts during the conversion process. Such catalysts are relatively cheaper with promising catalyst efficiency. Bimetallic catalysts are known for their synergistic effect that leads by combinations of various metals to a new feature of catalyst. Higher catalyst activities can be generated through weaker binding, resulted by destabilization of metal-adsorbate interaction as the filling of (d−σ)* state is increased (De et al, 2016)

Synthesis Methods

CONCLUSION