Jet fuel synthesis from Fischer–Tropsch product under mild hydrocracking conditions using Pt-loaded catalysts

• Screening studies of Pt catalyst support were performed for high jet fuel yield.
• Pt-loaded β-type zeolite catalyst exhibited high corresponding jet fuel yield.
• High corresponding jet fuel yield was obtained under mild conditions.

The development of effective Pt-loaded catalysts for high jet fuel yield was investigated in hydrocracking step in the proposed conversion process from biomass to jet fuel. Screening studies of Pt-loaded catalyst supports were performed using an autoclave in hydrocracking of n-C28H58 and n-C36H74 as model compounds over ten different supports loaded with Pt (Pt content: 0.5 wt%). The Pt-loaded β-type zeolite catalyst exhibited a high corresponding jet fuel yield using both feedstocks. The effect of the reaction temperature, reaction pressure, and Pt content on the hydrocracking behavior was studied in hydrocracking of n-C36H74 over Pt-loaded β-type zeolite catalyst. The corresponding jet fuel yield was maximized at 250–350 °C, and 0.9–1.4 MPa, and 0.1–1.0 wt% Pt content. The liquid product with carbon numbers 5–68 was obtained as Fischer–Tropsch (FT) product through the operation of a bench-scale biomass-to-liquid (BTL) plant. The effect of the reaction temperature and reaction pressure on the hydrocracking behavior was investigated in hydrocracking of the FT product over Pt-loaded β-type zeolite catalyst (Pt content: 0.1 wt%). The corresponding jet fuel yield was the maximum value (21.5%) at 250 °C and 1.5 MPa.