Transforming Used Palm Oil into Biogasoline Investigation of Activity and Selectivity of Mesoporous Silica Catalyst for Hydrocracking Process

Research on mesoporous silica synthesis using CTAB template as well as its activity and selectivity in the hydrocracking of used palm oil has been conducted. This research was initiated with the synthesis of mesoporous silica material by varying the TEOS to CTAB ratios at 2:1, 4:1, and 8:1, later calcined at varying temperatures of 300, 350, and 400 o C. The products were characterized by XRD, SEM-EDX, and GSA. The hydrocracking was performed with a feed ratio of 1:100 and H 2 gas flow rate of 20 mL/min for 1 hour. The results showed that the highest activity of mesoporous silica was found in the TEOS:CTAB ratio of 8:1 and calcination temperature of 500 o C. The mesoporous silica produced had higher crystallinity, higher percentages of Si, and larger pore size. The catalyst activity test showed that the application of mesoporous silica increased the amount of biogasoline fraction (C 5 -C 12 ) produced at the optimum temperature condition of 350°C using the MCT81-500 catalyst.