Honors Theses and Capstones
Date of Award
Spring 2014
Project Type
Senior Honors Thesis
College or School
CEPS
Department
Chemical Engineering
Program or Major
Chemical Engineering
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
First Advisor
P. T. Vasudevan
Abstract
Phenol deoxygenation has been investigated as a model reaction for the deoxygenation of fatty acid methyl esters in biodiesel. Hydrodeoxygenated biodiesel is a drop-in fuel for petroleum diesel, and is a premium diesel with a high cetane number. As the first step in this research, two molybdenum catalysts were prepared, characterized and tested in a small-scale reactor. These catalysts were found to produce small amounts of benzene and cyclohexanol in the product stream, and confirmed the activity of the catalyst. A commercial cobalt molybdenum catalyst (Harshaw HT-400) was also tested and benzene, cyclohexanol, and cyclohexane were identified as products. Future work aims to synthesize catalysts to produce a high yield of cyclohexane. Once the conditions are optimized, we will do tests with biodiesel.
Recommended Citation
Ball, Madelyn R B, "Phenol Deoxygenation over Hydrotreating Catalysts" (2014). Honors Theses and Capstones. 171.
https://scholars.unh.edu/honors/171