Renewable Jet Fuel from Kerosene/Coconut Oil Mixtures with Catalytic Hydrogenation

Due to the increasing volume of air transportation, the demand for jet fuels has grown significantly in the past decade. Hydrocarbon processing companies and different research groups began investigating the possible production routes of suitable kerosene fractions in order to produce fuel for jet engines not only on a crude oil basis but also from alternative sources, too. The Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation program will be started in the near future with the target to decrease the carbon dioxide emissions of aviation significantly. This carbon dioxide reduction can only be achieved when using jet fuels derived from alternative sources. The aim of this experimental work was to study the catalytic conversion of waste coconut oil which was mixed in straight-run kerosene fractions at 10, 30, and 50% to produce an alternative component containing jet fuel at various process parameters (temperature = 280–360 °C, liquid hourly space velocity = 1.0–3.0 h–1, pressure = 30 bar, hydrogen/feedstock volume ratio = 600 N m3/m3) on a sulfided nickel molybdenum/alumina catalyst. Based on the experimental results, the yield of the target product changed between 65 and 95% depending on the rate of desulfurization, deoxygenation, and aromatic saturation. The target products had a very high smoke point (>40 mm) resulting in very low particle emissions during the use of this biojet fuel.