Metal–organic framework-derived Ni-based catalyst for the hydrotreatment of triolein into green diesel

In this work, novel Ni-based catalysts supported on a porous carbon matrix were prepared using a simple hydrothermal method, and studied for the selective hydrotreatment of triolein. Three different catalysts were investigated, including Ni@C-BTC, Ni@C-DHTA and Ni@C-PTA. Of the catalysts studied, the Ni@C-BTC catalyst could achieve the highest conversion (up to 90%) and an excellent cracking ratio (4.61) under moderate reaction conditions (320 °C, 3 MPa, 4 h) in cyclohexane. In addition, other Ni-based catalysts prepared under different temperatures were investigated to study the influence of the calcined temperature on the activity of Ni-based catalysts. The influence of the temperature, H2 pressure, time and catalyst loading amount was investigated for the best performing catalyst (Ni@C-BTC-400). The detailed physicochemical characterization was carried out by means of XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, NH3-TPD, Raman and XPS analysis. In the end, the optimal Ni@C-BTC-400 catalyst could be recycled magnetically, and efficiently applied in the next run for four consecutive recycling tests in the hydrotreatment of triolein.