Product identification from the catalytic cracking of cis-9-octadecenoic acid

AGRO 172

Tracy J. Benson, tjb5@msstate.edu1, Rafael Hernandez, Rhernandez@che.msstate.edu1, W. Todd French1, Mark G. White1, Earl G. Alley, earl@ra.msstate.edu2, and William E. Holmes, wholmes@ra.msstate.edu2. (1) Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 9595, Mississippi State, MS 39762, (2) State Chemical Laboratory, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 9572, Mississippi State, MS 39762
Although the growing demand for renewable fuels has led to an increase in annual production of biodiesel from 0.5 to 75 million gallons, biodiesel production is mainly limited to plant oils such as soybean and canola and gives off glycerol as an unwanted byproduct. Therefore, a new biofuel is needed that can utilize a wider variety of lipids without producing unwanted byproducts. Municipal sewage sludge and oleaginous yeasts are just two lipid sources that could be used to produce green diesel. These lipids (e.g., glycolipids, phospholipids, sphingolipids) can be cracked with superacids to produce diesel range organics that are usable in compression ignition engines. In this study, oleic acid, a major fatty acid component of many potential lipid feedstocks, was reacted at 0°C using triflic acid as the protonating catalyst. Analytical determinations using NMR, FTIR, and GC/MS identified a mixture of C9-C14, C16, and C18 free fatty acids. This is indicative of γ cracking analogous found in heterogeneous catalysis of petroleum fuels. Both straight and branch chain isomers are formed for many of the carbon-lengths. Furthermore, decarboxylation to form diesel range organics can be achieved using high-temperature, transition metal catalytic reactions.
 

Agricultural Biomass, Biobased Products, and Biofuels
1:30 PM-5:10 PM, Wednesday, March 28, 2007 McCormick Place South -- Room S103D, Level 1, Oral

Division of Agrochemicals

The 233rd ACS National Meeting, Chicago, IL, March 25-29, 2007