Sustainable production of bioparaffins in a crude oil refinery

Abstract

Most prevalent fuels of diesel engine vehicles are the gas oils produced on crude oil bases. According to some disadvantages of fatty acid-methyl-esthers (biodiesels), bioparaffins (mainly isoparaffins) are able to substitute them partially or totally. The production of bioparaffins can be carried out on a wide raw material base. This means the natural triglycerides (different origin non-food vegetable oils, 'brown fat' of sewage works, fat of protein processing, algae oils, etc.), lignocellulose etc., In this paper catalysts (NiMo/Al2O3; Pt/SAPO-11; Pt/AlSBA-15, Pt/β-zeolite) for the production of bioparaffins from different natural triglycerides (oils and fats) and high-molecular weight Fischer–Tropsch (heavy; >C22) hydrocarbons (produced from biobased synthesis gas) are introduced. After the proper pretreatment of natural triglyceride feedstocks the suggested two-step technologies (deoxygenation and isomerisation). These are able to produce n- and isoparaffins with yield that approaches the 93–99 % of the theoretical value. Gas oil (diesel fuel) and base oil with high isoparaffin content (≥70 %) can be obtained with simultaneous isomerisation and hydrocracking of Fischer–Tropsch heavy paraffins. Properties of the two diesel fuels (bioparaffin fractions) produced with these methods satisfy the requirements of EN 590:2013 standard. Their cetane number is in the range of 65–75, which makes it possible to use itself and to blend lower quality blending components in higher quantity, which is the source of significant profit increase. The integration possibilities of the suggested technologies into crude oil refineries are introduced, too.