The product distribution obtained from the thermal cracking of canola oil was studied at atmospheric pressure in a fixed-bed reactor in the temperature range 300-500°C and gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) in the range 3.3-640 h -1 over inert materials and in the presence and absence of steam. Results showed that canola oil conversions were high (54-100 wt %) and depended strongly on the operating variables. Products essentially consisted of C 4 and C 5 hydrocarbons, aromatic and C 6 + aliphatic hydrocarbons, and C 2 -C 4 olefins, as well as a diesellike fuel fraction and hydrogen. GC-MS analyses showed that product distribution as well as the lengths of the carbon chain of hydrocarbons and oxygenated hydrocarbons depended strongly not only on the cracking temperature and space velocity but also on whether cracking was conducted in the presence or absence of steam. On the other hand, cracking over inert materials showed that both conversion and product distribution were completely independent of morphology of the cracking surface. A reaction scheme has been proposed to account for the product distribution obtained from the thermal cracking of canola oil. The observed changes in both canola oil conversion and product distribution with changes in the operating variables were found to be consistent with the reaction scheme.

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The catalytic conversion of canola oil to fuels and chemicals was studied over HZSM-5, H-mordenite, H-Y, silicalite, aluminum-pillared clay (AL-PILC) and silica-alumina catalysts in a fixed bed micro-reactor. The reactor was operated at atmospheric pressure, a temperature range of 375-500°C and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 1.8 and 3.6 h-'. An organic liquid product (OLP), light hydrocarbon gases and water were the major products. The objective was to maximize the amount of OLP and its hydrocarbon content as well as optimize the selectivity for gas phase olefinic hydrocarbons. In addition, the performance of each catalyst in terms of minimizing the coke formation was examined. Among the six catalysts, HZSMJ gave the highest amount of OLP of 63 mass% at 1.8 WHSV and 400°C. The hydrocarbon content of this OLP product was 83.8 mass%. With the exception of silica-alumina and aluminumpillared clay catalysts, the other catalysts gave high concentrations of aromatic hydrocarbons which ranged between 23.1-95.6 mass% of OLI'. The gas products consisted mostly C, and C4 hydrocarbons. Ethylene, propylene and butanes were some of the valuable hydrocarbon gases. The olefidparaffin ratio of the gas products was highest for AL-PILC catalysts but it never exceeded unity. The results showed that it was possible to significantly alter the yield and selectivity for the different hydrocarbon products by using different catalysts or changing the catalyst functionality such as acidity, pore size and crystallinity. Reaction pathways based on these results are proposed for the conversion of canola oil La conversion catalytique d'huile de canola en combustibles et produits chimiques a Ctt ttudik sur des catalyseurs HZSM-5, H-mordenite, H-Y, silicalite, argile renforck d'aluminium (AL-PILC) et sfice-alumine dans un micro-dacteur B lit fixe. Le rhcteur a fonctionnk & la pression atmosphtrique, dans une gamme de tempkratures entre 375 et 500°C et h un volume par volume par heure (WH) de 1,8 et 3,6 h-'. Les principaux produits sont un produit organique liquide (POL), des gaz d'hydrocarbures ICgers et de I'eau. L'objectif h i t de maximiser la quantit6 de POL et sa teneur en h y d r d u r e s et Cgalement d'optimiser la dlectivitk pour les hydrocarbures oltfiniques de la phase gazeuse. Par ailleurs, la performance de chaque catalyseur a ttt examinee par ralpport h la capacitk de minimiser la formation de coke. Parmi les six catalyseurs, le HZSM-5 a donnt la plus forte quantitt de POL (63% en masse,h un VVH de 1,8 et & 400°C). La teneur en hydrocarbures de ce produit organique liquitde est de 83,896 en masse. A I'exception des catalyseurs de dice-alumine et d'argile renforct d'aluminium, les catalyseurs ont donnt de fortes concentrations d'hydrocarbures aromatiques dont le pourcentage en masse du POL est connpris entre 23,l et 95,6. Les produits gazeux sont essentiellement des hydrocarbures C, et C,. L'tthyltne, le propyltne et les butanes sont quelques-uns des gaz d'hydrocarbures interessants. Le rapport oltfine/parafine des produits...

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