Hydrothermal Decarboxylation of Corn Distillers Oil for Fuel‐Grade Hydrocarbons. Issue 7 (1st June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hossain, Md. Zakir; Jhawar, Anil Kumar; Chowdhury, Muhammad B. I.; Xu, William Z.; Charpentier, Paul A.
• Is Part Of: Energy technology. Volume 6:Issue 7(2018:Jul.)
• Page Start: 1261
• Page End: 1274
• Publication Date: 2018-06-01
• Subjects: biofuels -- biomass -- catalysis -- fuels -- supercritical water; Energy development -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Periodicals; 333.79
• DOI: 10.1002/ente.201700957
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2194-4288

Abstract

Abstract: Catalytic hydrothermal conversion of non‐edible corn distillers oil (CDO), a low‐value by‐product of the ethanol industries, into high value fuel‐grade hydrocarbons was investigated in near‐supercritical water. The decarboxylation experiments were conducted using activated carbon in a 300 mL batch stirred tank reactor at reaction temperatures of 300–400 °C with pressure ranges from 2200–2500 psi (≈15–17 MPa), water/CDO ( v / v ) ratios of 2:1 to 5:1, and reaction times of 0.5 to 4 h at constant stirring speed (800 rpm). For the first time, complete removal of the −COO− group from CDO was achieved at 400 °C with 4 h of reaction time and a water/CDO ( v / v ) ratio of 4:1. The liquid products obtained were a mixture of saturated hydrocarbons, mainly C8 –C16 (selectivity 49.7 %) and heptadecane (48.9 %) which have similar specific gravity, higher heating value (HHV), cloud points, and pour points to those of commercial fuels. 65 % liquid yield was obtained under optimal reaction conditions. The reaction mechanism was found to follow pseudo‐first‐order kinetics with an activation energy 66.1±3 kJ mol −1, which is much lower than similar reported literature values for the decarboxylation process. Abstract : Not just corny results : Renewable liquid hydrocarbons containing mainly heptadecane and pentadecane are produced by one‐pot hydrothermal decarboxylation of corn distillers oil using low‐cost activated carbon. The renewable liquid hydrocarbons have ideal properties for commercial fuels including density, heating value, cloud point, and pour point.