Potential of advanced microporous zeolites and mesoporous materials derived from natural precursors as supports for iron phosphide catalysts in bio-jet fuel production from palm oil (Elaeis guineensis)

Abstract

Iron phosphide (FeP) has emerged as an efficient catalyst for converting palm oil, a biomass-derived feedstock, into bio-jet fuel through the hydrocracking process. The catalytic performance of FeP is strongly influenced by the choice of support material. In this study, microporous MWW-type zeolites (MCM-22 and MCM-36) and mesoporous materials (MCM-41 and MCM-48) were successfully synthesized from entirely natural precursors, silica derived from rice husk and aluminosilicate gel extracted from kaolin clay, via a hydrothermal method, and employed as supports for FeP catalysts. Among these materials, MCM-22 zeolite exhibited the highest microporosity, followed by zeolite MCM-36, resulting in superior acidity compared to the mesoporous materials, MCM-41 and MCM-48. FeP supported on MCM-22 (FeP/MCM-22) demonstrated the best catalytic performance, liquid hydrocarbon yield (∼33%), and bio-jet selectivity (∼78%) were obtained, outperforming FeP/MCM-36, FeP/MCM-41, and FeP/MCM-48. This is due to its high surface area of micropores (∼187 m² g⁻¹) and the excellent acidity of this zeolite, which helped prevent FeP overloading and promote uniform metal distribution. Furthermore, it exhibited remarkable stability and reusability, with performance improving over three consecutive reaction cycles, LHCs yield increasing to 50% and bio-jet selectivity stabilizing at about 83%, attributed to enhanced acidity accessibility and progressive formation of the FeP active phase.