Influence of Hydroprocessing Conditions on the Fractional and Component Composition of Liquid Organic Products Obtained from Fatty Acids

Abstract

The impact of various parameters of the hydrotreatment of plant lipids, such as the hydrogen-to-fatty acids ratio, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV), and the temperature, on the components and fractional composition of a liquid organic product has been studied. Depending on the process parameters, the main products can be either motor fuel components (normal and isomerized alkanes), or oxygen-containing compounds of interest for the chemical industry (fatty alcohols). A formation of the predominantly “diesel” fraction with the iso-alkanes to normal alkanes ratio equal to 8.6 that resulted in the yield of iso-alkanes equal to 61 wt % was achieved at a hydrogen-to-fatty acid ratio of 2200 m³/m³, T = 300°C, P = 2.5 MPa, and WHSV = 2.1 h^–1. The WHSV increase to 8.4 h^–1 makes it possible to obtain an organic product consisting mainly of O-containing compounds (fatty alcohols, fatty acid esters, lactones) with the yield of 51 wt %.