Decarboxylation of fatty acids over Pd supported on mesoporous carbon

Fatty acid decarboxylation was studied in a semibatch reactor over 1 wt.% Pd/C (Sibunit) using five different fatty acids, C17–C20 and C22, as feeds. The same decarboxylation rates were obtained for pure fatty acids, whereas extensive catalyst poisoning and/or sintering and coking occurred with low purity fatty acids as reactants. One reason for catalyst poisoning using behenic acid (C22) as a feedstock was its high phosphorus content. The decarboxylation rate of fatty acids decreased also with increasing fatty acid to metal ratio.