Thermodynamic balance in reaction system of total vegetable oil hydrogenation

Total hydrogenation of vegetable oils to yield hydrocarbons is an emerging process for production of biofuels. Tristearate was chosen as a model compound to represent vegetable oils in the calculations. As its thermodynamic data were not available in literature, their Values were estimated by using the Joback's contribution method. Based on the comparison to a relevant known system (butyl stearate) it was concluded that the chosen method is suitable for the assessment of thermodynamic data of triglycerides. A basic thermodynamic analysis of the reaction system was performed and the predictions of the derived thermodynamic model were compared to the experimental observations of rape-seed oil total hydrogenation into hydrocarbons. The model predictions were found to be in good agreement with experimental data. The estimations suggested that the reaction was limited by hydrogen diffusivity through the liquid film on catalyst particles. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.