(515h) Vegetable Oils Extracted from Carnauba Seed with Potential for Bio-Jet Fuel Production

Due to the growing demand for energy, it is essential to develop products and technologies based on a diversified and clean matrix of energy and fuel production. Nowadays has increased the development with a sustainable and renewable cycle in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Biofuels are emerging as a viable alternative to fossil energy dependence and contributing to reducing GHG and other substances harmful to human health and the environment. Bio-jet fuel, a drop-in type of biofuel for aviation, based on carbon and hydrogen are generally derived from a broad spectrum of feedstock and thus has a very different composition. One of the most common bio-jet fuels pathway production l is the HEFA (hydrogenated esters and fatty acids) due to its conversion and yield. HEFA is a process to hydrotreat the triglycerides, saturated or unsaturated fatty acids in the vegetable oils, used cooking oils and animal fats to produce bio-jet fuels. Vegetable oils are mainly constituted of triglycerides (95-98%) and a mixture of smaller components (2-5%) from a wide range of chemical compounds. However, in the same feedstock, the type of organic solvent used in the extraction and refining procedures can modify the final oil composition. Nonpolar or weakly polar compounds are soluble in nonpolar or low polar solvents, while compounds with high polarity are soluble in polar solvents, due to the organic solubility be directly related to the molecular structure. This work proposed the oil extraction from Carnauba seed, sustainable biomass, using ethanol and hexane as solvents, to be used as feedstock for bio-jet fuel. The oil was extracted using a Soxhlet extractor at 75 ° C for 3 h for n-hexane and 8 h for ethanol. The products obtained were cooled and stocked in a desiccator until constant weight. The Soxhlet extractions using two solvents were carried out to evaluate the solvent influence on the carnauba oil solubility. After the extraction, the carnauba oil produced was purified by a silica column. In the case of hexane as a solvent, the material recovered was apolar, and ethanol was polar, followed by distillation to separate the oil from the solvent. For polar fraction, using ethanol as solvent, a reddish colored substance was obtained with the oil, and for apolar fraction, greenish color with oil was achieved. This difference in color becomes evident in the composition of the oils obtained. These purified oils will be used as raw material to be tested in the bio-jet fuel production.