Catalytic thermal decarboxylation of palm kernel oil basic soap into drop-in fuel

Abstract

Catalytic thermal decarboxylation of basic soaps derived from palm kernel oil to produce dropin fuel was investigated. The C12/14 and C12/16 methyl ester had been used as the model compounds of this study. The purpose of this study was to produce drop-in fuel, especially jets biofuel, by catalytic thermal decarboxylation of basic soaps from palm kernel oils. In this study, two types of Magnesium-Zinc metal combination were used for preparing the basic soaps, both directly have a role as a catalyst. The reaction was carried out at 370°C and atmospheric pressure for 3 hours in the semi-batch reactor. Approximately 41 and 43 weight% of the yield and selectivity of about 97 and 98% toward the jets biofuel had been obtained in both experiments, respectively. The results showed that decarboxylation of basic soaps of C12/14 and C12/16 methyl ester were converted into drop-in fuel, especially jets biofuel in the relatively good yield of conversion.