The effect of calcination temperature on the performance of Ni/MgO–Al2O3 catalysts for decarboxylation of oleic acid

Ni catalysts supported on MgO–Al2O3 (MgO = 70 wt.%) were prepared at various calcination temperatures for decarboxylation of oleic acid. According to TPR patterns of Ni/MgO–Al2O3 catalysts, the reduction degree increases with decreasing the calcination temperature from 500 to 300 °C. Ni/MgO–Al2O3 catalyst calcined at 300 °C exhibited the highest oleic acid conversion as well as high selectivity to C17 compounds at the reaction temperature of 300 °C. This is due to free NiO species, which have relatively weak interaction with the support.