Agro-industrial residues as low-price feedstock for diesel-like fuel production by thermal cracking

Pyrolysis of industrial fatty wastes (soybean soapstock, beef tallow, and poultry industry waste) was carried out in the absence of catalysts. In all cases, organic mixtures of hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds were obtained. These mixtures were distilled and diesel-like fractions were isolated and characterized by GC-FID, GC–MS and FT-IR, showing the formation of olefins, paraffins, and some oxygenated compounds such as carboxylic acids and esters. The main physical–chemical properties of those isolated diesel-like fuels (density, viscosity, distillation curve, carbon residue, copper corrosion test, cetane index, cold finger plugging point, acid index and heating value) were determined using ASTM standard methods and matched the Brazilian specification for diesel fuel.