LAUSR

Abstract In the current study, palm kernel oil was used as a renewable feedstock for production of jet fuel-like hydrocarbons via the deoxygenation over the Ni-MoS 2 /γ-Al 2 O 3 catalyst. The dominant C12 fatty acid content in palm kernel oil makes it promising for jet fuel application. Synthesized by a liquid processing method with thiourea organosulfur agent, the catalyst revealed MoS 2 structure with low stacking, while Ni substitution in the MoS 2 structure and interaction with the Al 2 O 3 support were determined based on the Ni K-edge XANES and EXAFS results. A high hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) activity, which as the major pathway in the deoxygenation, was observed upon application of a H 2 pressure of 30–50 bar over Ni-MoS 2 /γ-Al 2 O 3 . The optimum product yield of approximately 92% was obtained mainly from the HDO pathway (∼60%) with 58% selectivity to C10–C12 jet fuel hydrocarbons. The flow property of the jet fuel-like hydrocarbons was more desirable than those obtained from palm olein oil-derived fuel.