Utilization of illumination and thermal field in the preparation of jet–fuel components: The photothermic catalysis of Jatropha oil over the M/TiO2–HZSM–5

Abstract

Under simultaneous illumination and heating, Jatropha oil was converted into jet–fuel components over modified catalysts. XRD, HRTEM, N2 adsorption–desorption, XRF, NH3/CO–NH3–TPD/CO–TPD, UV–Vis and TG–DTG–MS were employed to determine the surface morphology and acidic site content of the modified catalysts. Through the characterizations and experimental results, the band gap of the catalysts modified with titanium dioxide was found to be significantly reduced, which enhanced the visible light adsorption of the catalysts. Moreover, the catalyst loaded with Pt contained the highest amount of weakly acidic sites, which led to the highest conversion and selectivity for the Pt/TiO2–HZSM–5 catalyst at 100 °C and 0.4 MPa H2 pressure. In addition, the pathway of photocatalytic decarboxylation and catalytic cracking of Jatropha oil was found to involve a cascade reaction from fatty acid to Cn–1 alkane and eventually to cracking products.