| dc.description.abstract | The demand for renewable energy resources has led to an increase in the search for
biofuels obtained from vegetable oils. On that subject, vegetable oils that are not used for
alimentation, such as macauba oil, are promising. In order to obtain renewable hydrocarbons
from macauba, catalytic pyrolysis can be used to promote oil deoxygenation. Thus, in the
present work, AlSBA-15 synthesis and its subsequent impregnation with molybdenum were
performed aiming at the catalytic deoxygenation of macauba oil. Pure and esterified macauba
oils were characterized by acidity index, density, viscosity, thermogravimetry (TGA) and
differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), showing results similar to those found in the
literature. Catalyst characterization was carried out by thermogravimetry (TGA), X-ray
diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled to energy dispersive X-ray
analysis (EDAX) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The catalysts showed
reflections in the X-ray diffraction, which is a characteristic of the highly ordered hexagonal
P6mm structure of the mesoporous material SBA-15, showing that the metal incorporation
did not damage the molecular sieve structure. Infrared spectrum showed bands that are
characteristic of SBA-15 type materials, such as 1088 cm-1, 804 cm-1, and 467 cm-1 bands,
which refer, respectively, to asymmetric and symmetric stretching vibration and the Si-O-Si
bond deformation, present in the structure of SBA-15. Additionally, it was observed the
presence of a 964 cm-1 band associated with the stretching of the Si-OH bond of the silanols
groups that compose the structure of the mesoporous material. Analysis of thermogravimetry
coupled to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was carried out, allowing that the products
obtained from the decomposition/volatization of macauba oil by FTIR were evaluated. The
samples with the catalysts also had the products of their decompositions evaluated by FTIR.
The results obtained by TGA-FTIR for the samples with catalysts showed bands in the range
of 2400-2250, referring to the C=O bond of the CO2 group, which led to the conclusion that
AlSBA-15, and especially Mo/AlSBA-15 catalysts, caused the deoxygenation of macauba oil
with the consequent production of hydrocarbons. | |
