Production of bio-based aromatic compounds from crop oil

In this work we evaluate the feasibility of producing bio-based aromatic compounds from crop oil via catalytic cracking. Experiments were conducted in a continuous flow reactor by using doped zeolite catalysts. A design of experiments (DOE) strategy was applied and six factors were included. In the DOE analysis, the responses of interest were the selectivities for individual aromatics, such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, as well as the overall yield of BTEX. It was found that reaction temperature and the amount of initial oil charged (oil to catalyst ratio) negatively influenced the overall aromatics yield, while dopant concentration was positively correlated to aromatic yields. A significant interaction between dopant concentration and initial oil charged was found and could be used for controlling toluene yield and thus overall BTEX yield. Our work suggests that crop oils could be a very effective renewable feedstock for the production of aromatic compounds.