Theoretical Investigation of the Deactivation of Ni Supported Catalysts for the Catalytic Deoxygenation of Palm Oil for Green Diesel Production

For the first time, a fully comprehensive heterogeneous computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model has been developed to predict the selective catalytic deoxygenation of palm oil to produce green diesel over an Ni/ZrO2 catalyst. The modelling results were compared to experimental data, and a very good validation was obtained. It was found that for the Ni/ZrO2 catalyst, the paraffin conversion increased with temperature, reaching a maximum value (>95%) at 300 degrees C. However, temperatures greater than 300 degrees C resulted in a loss of conversion due to the fact of catalyst deactivation. In addition, at longer times, the model predicted that the catalyst activity would decline faster at temperatures higher than 250 degrees C. The CFD model was able to predict this deactivation by relating the catalytic activity with the reaction temperature.

Automated summary

The study successfully developed a comprehensive heterogeneous computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model to predict the selective catalytic deoxygenation of palm oil over an Ni/ZrO2 catalyst. The results showed that paraffin conversion increased with temperature, reaching a maximum at 300 degrees C, but higher temperatures led to catalyst deactivation. The CFD model accurately predicted the deactivation by correlating catalytic activity with reaction temperature.