Hydrogenation reactions of kerosene on nickel-based catalysts

The hydrotreating of kerosene was studied to develop a crude kerosene distillate to produce products with specifications suitable for marketing as kerosene and rocket grade fuel. To saturate the aromatic structures from kerosene, hydrogenation experiments were carried out in a batch steel reactor with different amounts (20 ml and 40 ml) of crude kerosene, using silica-supported nickel and kieselguhr supported nickel-sulfur catalysts. The catalysts were analyzed with Brunauer, Emmett ve Teller (BET), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The aromatic fractions and paraffin structures content of the obtained samples were examined. The experiments were carried out at 200–220 °C temperature with 5 bar hydrogen initial pressure for 2 h. The obtained products were analyzed by performing a 1H NMR analysis. According to proton NMR result, the ratio of paraffinic methylene, beta methyl, epsilon methylene groups of 20 ml crude kerosene with kieselguhr supported nickel-sulfur is more than 4.5 times compared to crude kerosene, and % the percentage of aromatic hydrogen structures of it is two times lower. As a result of hydrogenation experiments with both nickel-based catalysts, aromatic hydrogen structures in crude kerosene were reduced. The total H/C ratio of rocket grade hydrocarbon fuels increased after hydrogenation experiments. For this reason, the scope of ongoing research can be extended to hybrid rocket propellants (SP-1) used in hybrid rocket engines.