In this study, the catalytic activity of bifunctional
SiO2/Zr catalysts prepared by template and chelate methods
using potassium
hydrogen phthalate (KHF) for crude palm oil (CPO) hydrocracking to
biofuels was investigated. The parent catalyst was successfully prepared
by the sol–gel method, followed by the impregnation of zirconium
using ZrOCl2·8H2O as a precursor. The morphological,
structural, and textural properties of the catalysts were examined
using several techniques, including electron microscopy energy-dispersive
X-ray with mapping, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction,
particle size analyzer (PSA), N2 adsorption–desorption,
Fourier transform infrared-pyridine, and total and surface acidity
analysis using the gravimetric method. The results showed that the
physicochemical properties of SiO2/Zr were affected by
different preparation methods. The template method assisted by KHF
(SiO2/Zr-KHF2 and SiO2-KHF catalysts) provides
a porous structure and high catalyst acidity. The catalyst prepared
by the chelate method assisted by KHF (SiO2/Zr-KHF1) exhibited
excellent Zr dispersion toward the SiO2 surface. The modification
remarkably enhanced the catalytic activity of the parent catalyst
in the order SiO2/Zr-KHF2 > SiO2/Zr-KHF1
> SiO2/Zr > SiO2-KHF > SiO2, with sufficient
CPO conversion. The modified catalysts also suppressed coke formation
and resulted in a high liquid yield. The catalyst features of SiO2/Zr-KHF1 promoted high-selectivity biofuel toward biogasoline,
whereas SiO2/Zr-KHF2 led to an increase in the selectivity
toward biojet. Reusability studies showed that the prepared catalysts
were adequately stable over three consecutive runs for CPO conversion.
Overall, SiO2/Zr prepared by the template method assisted
by KHF was chosen as the most prominent catalyst for CPO hydrocracking.