Catalytic deoxygenation of Reutealis trisperma oil over Al-MCM-41 derived from red mud

Abstract

The Al-MCM-41 was successfully synthesized from red mud as silica and alumina source. The synthesis process involved a two-step hydrothermal method using CTABr as the mesopore template. The XRD analysis shows an amorphous structure characteristic of Al-MCM-41 with uniform hexagonal pore structure. The resulting Al-MCM-41 had a high surface area of 461.37 m²/g with the high pore volume of 0.41 cc/g. Morphologically, the Al-MCM-41 catalyst displayed agglomerated small crystallites with particle sizes ranging from 0.6 to 1.4 μm. Elemental analysis showed the catalyst comprised Al, Si, Fe, and O elements, with percentages of 5.45%, 39.61%, 2.72%, and 49.09%, respectively. The catalyst was used in the catalytic deoxygenation of Reutealis trisperma oil to produce diesel-range hydrocarbon. Furthermore, GC-MS analysis of the liquid product demonstrated a selectivity of 48.5% for hydrocarbons and 28.14% of aromatic.