Effective conversion of heteroatomic model compounds in microalgae-based bio-oils to hydrocarbons over β-Mo2C/CNTs catalyst

•β-Mo2C/CNTs can efficiently remove heteroatoms of microalgae-based bio-oils.•β-Mo2C/CNTs shows superior low temperature activity and carbon economy.•β-Mo2C/CNTs can be recycled continuously for seven times without deactivation.•A brief pathway for stearic acid deoxygenation over β-Mo2C/CNTs is proposed.

Hydrotreatment of heteroatomic model compounds in microalgae-based bio-oils into diesel-like hydrocarbons was carried out over carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-supported β-Mo2C catalyst with superior activity and selectivity under a mild condition (≤200 °C). The results show that stearic acid and hexadecanamide can be completely converted into n-C15–C18 alkanes over β-Mo2C/CNTs catalyst. The β-Mo2C/CNTs favors the pathway of hydrogenation–dehydration–hydrogenation to produce n-octadecane with an optimal yield of 91.24% at a lower temperature of 180 °C during hydrotreating process of stearic acid. The recycle tests demonstrate that the β-Mo2C/CNTs exhibits excellent stability, and can be reused for seven times consecutively without reduction of catalytic stability. Based on the determined products, a brief reaction pathway is proposed. Therefore, a novel approach to produce diesel-like hydrocarbons via catalytic hydrotreatment of microalgae-based bio-oils over β-Mo2C/CNTs is introduced, which provides a basic research as well as technical parameters for its further industrialization.

Graphical abstractA highly selective hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and hydrodenitrogeneration (HDN) approach of heteroatomic model compounds in microalgae-based bio-oils to produce diesel-like hydrocarbons is provided over β-Mo2C/CNTs catalyst under a mild condition (≤200 °C). The obtained results open a new possibility to upgrade microalgae-based bio-oils into high-grade transportation fuels at large.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (170 K)Download as PowerPoint slide