Evaluation of the performance and atmospheric emissions in a diesel engine of the biofuel obtained by hydrodeoxygenation of oleic acid with Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts

Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts were prepared by incipient wet impregnation and tested in hydrodeoxygenation reactions for conversion of oleic acid to n-C₁₇ alkanes at optimal conditions. The high conversion of 96.5% to renewable biodiesel (RD) is justified with the characterization results, showing that the catalyst has good texture properties, presence of metallic Pt evidenced by 2θ reflections and binding energies, as well as adequate dispersion of active phase and nanoparticle size. 20% and 40% mixtures of RD with diesel were used. At full load a slight decrease in potency was observed when using RD mixtures and comparing them with petrodiesel; fortunately, the RD mixtures showed significant reductions in air pollutants, RD40 achieved reductions greater than 22% for CO, HC, and near 43% in emissions of smoke when compared to diesel.