HYDROPROCESSING OF MESUA FERREA L OIL OVER NIMO/MBCUS CATALYST IN A BATCH REACTOR

Hydroprocessing is a well established refining technology used in petroleum refineries and petro-chemical Industry. The hydroprocessing of Mesua ferrea L. (MFL) oil was performed in an indigenous batch type reactor at 400 oC under such a lower H2 pressure of 0.5 MPa. NiMo (Ni-5.0 wt. % and Mo-10.0 wt. %) supported on Musa balbisiana colla underground stem ash (MBCUS) catalyst used in this study was prepared by the incipient wetness impregnation technique and characterized by the BET, TG/DTA, XRD, XRF, SEM and TEM analysis. The hydroprocessed liquid commonly known as biocrude was again separated into various fractions similar to petroleum distillates procedures (ASTM D2892 and ASTM D5236) using True Boiling Point distillation unit. About 55.80 wt % organic liquid fractions were recovered from the distillation process while the rest was as reduced crude. The resultant liquid hydrocarbons were characterized and their fuel properties were found in the vicinity of petroleum hydrocarbons. However, some of the properties of green diesel were found excellent like cetane index > 95.