IndianOil tests jatropha oil coprocessing at petroleum refinery
June 6, 2013
BY Ron Kotrba
In May, Faridabad, India-based IndianOil announced it successfully demonstrated coprocessing jatropha oil with petroleum crude in existing diesel hydrotreating units at the Chennai Petroleum Corp. Ltd. refinery in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India.
IndianOil said it also developed a process to remove gums and metals from jatropha oil prior to coprocessing, a necessary step since metals are poisonous for the catalyst in the diesel hydrotreating unit. A specific catalyst was developed for the jatropha oil-crude petroleum oil blend by IndianOil’s R&D team, the company stated.
Creda Biofuels Ltd., a joint venture of IndianOil and Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Authority, supplied 200 tons (approximately 60,000 gallons) of jatropha oil for the project.
The diesel hydrotreating unit used up to 6.5 percent of jatropha oil in the mix. During the trial, the firm said diesel cetane number improved by two points, sulfur content was reduced and the inlet temperature of the reactor could also be lowered by 100 degrees Celsius, with resultant energy savings.
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IndianOil is India’s flagship national oil company with business interests straddling the entire hydrocarbon value chain. It employs more than 34,000 workers.
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