Biorefining of Mesua ferrea L. Biocrude into Green Transport Fuels Using TBP Distillation: A Sustainable Approach towards 2-G Biorefinery

In the present work, Mesua ferrea Linn seed oil was hydroprocessed in a 2-liter batch reactor at 350-400 ^o C and 5 bar initial H ₂ pressure using biomass wasted supported Ni/Mo and commercial Pd/C catalysts for one hour. The catalysts synthesized from biomass wastes materials were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, TGA, and FTIR techniques and used for the hydroprocessing of MFL oil. Catalytic hydroprocessing produced about 92% biocrude, with the remaining 7% escaping as non-condensable gases and 1% water at the bottom of the reactor. The resulting biocrude was distilled using the True Boiling Point (TBP) distillation unit in accordance with ASTM D2892 and ASTM D5236 specifications as applicable to petroleum refineries. After characterizing biocrude and the distillate fractions, the green gasoline fraction in the boiling range of 35-140 ^o C was found to be 6-10%, the green kerosene/aviation fuel in the boiling range of 140-180 ^o C was 5-7%, and the green diesel fraction in the boiling range of 180-370 ^o C was 33-35% by volume. Additionally, about 7–9 vol.% of the wax in the boiling range of 370–482 ^o C may also be extracted from the biocrude using TBP distillation unit. Thus, it is possible to fractionate 61–65% of the original biocrude into the distillate products. Furthermore, the fuel properties of the green gasoline, green kerosene, and green diesel fractions obtained from the MFL biocrude were on par with or even better than those of their petroleum analogs, indicating that they might be used as an equivalent substitute for drop-in-fuels.