Catalytic cracking of Indonesian nyamplung oil (Calophyllum inophyllum) for bio-fuels production using ZSM-5 catalyst

Indonesian non-edible oils such as nyamplung oil have excellent potentially be converted into renewable bio-based fuel using catalytic cracking. This process has advantages in the feedstock flexibility without considering the level of free fatty acid (FFA),compared to transesterification process for biodiesel production. This work aims to convert Indonesian nyamplung oil into organic liquid product (OLP)-based fuels. The experiments were carried out in fixed bed reactor using ZSM-5 catalyst. The influences of catalyst to oil ratios and temperature reaction were observed to obtain the high selectivity in lighter fraction. The liquid hydrocarbon products obtained from this process were analysed using Gas-Chromatography and GC-MS and grouped into 3 lumps,i.e.,C5-C11,C12-C15 and C16-C18 that having similarity to gasoline,kerosene and diesel fraction. The experimental results showed that crude Indonesian nyamplung oil with high FFA of 29.5% can be directly converted into OLP hydrocarbon-based fuels by catalytic cracking. The use of ZSM-5 as a catalyst can improve the selectivity of C5-C11 fraction. © School of Engineering,Taylor’s University.