Production of bioparaffins by the catalytic hydrogenation of natural triglycerides

The production possibilities of gas oil boiling-range mixtures of paraffins were investigated over different catalysts as a function of the process parameters using different natural triglycerides. Under favorable operational parameters (T: 360-380 °C; p: 60-80 bar; liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV): 1.0-2.0 cm3 of feedstock/(h∙cm3 of catalyst)), the yield of paraffin mixtures increased in the order NiW/Al2O3 < NiMo/Al2O3 << CoMo/Al2O3. In the best cases, the yields of paraffins reached 75-85% of the theoretical values. These compounds are excellent, environmentally sound fuels for diesel engines (cetane number: 89-92) and could be used either as pure fuels or as blending components.