Study on palm oil hydrogenation for clean fuel over Ni–Mo–W/γ-Al2O3–ZSM-5 catalyst

• Acidity is the main factor influencing activity, selectivity, and stability of catalysts.
• The diesel produced from palm oil almost conformed to the European standard EN-590.
• The oxygen was principally eliminated by hydrodeoxygenation and decarbonylation.

Biodiesel, derived from vegetable oil via hydrotreating, is becoming a promising alternative energy. Novel Ni–Mo–W/γ-Al2O3–ZSM-5 catalysts were developed and firstly applied in palm oil hydrogenation process. The catalysts were prepared by extrusion method and characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, NH3–TPD, and H2–TPR. The influences of acidity on the activity, selectivity, and stability of catalysts were systematically studied. The mechanisms of deoxygenation and isomerization were discussed. The catalyst Ni–Mo–W (5 wt.%–5 wt.%–15 wt.%)/γ-Al2O3–ZSM-5 (85 wt.% − 15 wt.%) was confirmed as the optimum one. Finally, the key reaction parameters such as reaction temperature, pressure, liquid hourly space velocity and H2/oil volume ratio were optimized. The hydrogenation reaction path of palm oil was also proposed.