A cleaner process for hydrocracking of jatropha oil into green diesel

To achieve cleaner processing, Ni-HPW/Al2O3 was synthesized as a new green catalyst for producing biodiesel, and jatropha oil was transformed into hydrocarbons (primarily n-C15 to n-C18 alkanes) using the new catalyst. A 99.85% jatropha oil conversion rate and 85.52% selectivity of the n-C15 to n-C18 fractions were obtained at a temperature of 360 °C, a pressure of 3.3 MPa, a H2/oil volume ratio of 600 (N m3)/m3, and a liquid hourly space velocity of 1.0 h−1. It was also observed that higher reaction temperatures clearly favored oxygen removal from the hydrocracking products. During hydrocracking, the new catalyst was efficient and avoided H2S pollution; it therefore has potential for use in the biodiesel industry.