The number of annually registered internal-combustion vehicles still exceeds electric-driven ones in most regions, e.g., Germany. Ambitious goals are disclosed with the European Green Deal, which calls for new technical approaches and greenhouse gas neutral transition technologies. Such bridging technologies are synthetic fuels for the transportation sector, e.g., using the bioliq ® process for a CO 2 -neutral gasoline supply. Fuels must meet the applicable national standards to be used in existing engines. Petrochemical parameters can be variably adapted to their requirements by hydroprocessing. In this work, we considered the upgrading of aromatic-rich DTG gasoline from the bioliq ® process. The heavy gasoline was therefore separated from the light one by rectification. We investigated how to selectively modify the petrochemical parameters of the heavy gasoline, especially the boiling characteristics, to make the product suitable as a high-quality blending component. Three commercially available Pt/zeolite catalysts were tested over a wide range of temperature and space velocity. We achieved high gasoline yields, while the content of light end compounds up to a boiling temperature of 150°C could be increased significantly. In contrast to the high naphthenic content of the gasoline, the obtained octane numbers were satisfactory. Especially the Motor Octane Number turned out unexpectedly high and showed a dependency on the isomerization of the naphthenic rings. By blending the upgraded heavy gasoline with the previously separated light gasoline, we could finally show that hydroprocessing is suitable for adjusting petrochemical parameters. The aromatic concentration was 37.5% lower than that in the original raw gasoline, while the boiling characteristics improved significantly. Additionally, the final boiling point was 82°C lower, which is beneficial for the emission behavior.

The global economy and its production chains must move away from petroleum-based products, to achieve this goal, alternative carbon feedstocks need to be established. One area of concern is sustainable production of synthetic lubricants. A lubricating oil can be described as a high boiling point (>340 °C) liquid with solidification at least below room temperature. Historically, many lubricants have been produced from petroleum waxes via solvent or catalytic dewaxing. In this study, catalytic dewaxing was applied to potential climate neutral feedstocks. One lubricant was produced via Fischer–Tropsch (FT) synthesis and the other lubricant resulted from low temperature pyrolysis of agricultural waste plastics. The waxes were chosen because they each represented a sustainable alternative towards petroleum, i.e., FT waxes are contrivable from biomass and CO2 by means of gasification and Power-to-X technology. The pyrolysis of plastic is a promising process to complement existing recycling processes and to reduce environmental pollution. Changes in cloud point, viscosity, and yield were investigated. A bifunctional zeolite catalyst (SAPO-11) loaded with 0.3 wt% platinum was used. The plastic waste lubricants showed lower cloud points and increased temperature stability as compared with lubricants from FT waxes. There was a special focus on the composition of the naphtha, which accumulated during cracking. While the plastic waste produced higher amounts of naphtha, its composition was quite similar to those from FT waxes, with the notable exception of a higher naphthene content.

Due to environmental concerns, the role of renewable sources for petroleum-based products has become an invaluable research topic. One possibility of achieving this goal is the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) based on sustainable raw materials. Those materials include, but are not limited to, synthesis gas from biomass gasification or hydrogen through electrolysis powered by renewable electricity. In recent years, the utilisation of CO2 as carbon source for FTS was one main R&D topic. This is one of the reasons for its increase in value and the removal of its label as being just exhaust gas. With the heavy product fraction of FTS, referred to as Fischer–Tropsch waxes (FTW), being rather limited in their application, catalytic upgrading can help to increase the economic viability of such a process by converting the waxes to high value transportation fuels and lubricating oils. In this paper, the dewaxing of FTW via hydroisomerisation and hydrocracking was investigated. A three phase fixed bed reactor was used in combination with a zeolitic catalyst with an AEL (SAPO-11) structure and 0.3 wt% platinum (Pt). The desired products were high quality white oils with low cloud points. These products were successfully produced in a one-step catalytic dewaxing process. Within this work, a direct correlation between the physical properties of the white oils and the chemical composition of the simultaneously produced fuel fractions could be established.

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