The efficacy of monosodium glutamate (MSG) as a lixiviant for the selective and sustainable leaching of zinc and copper from electric arc furnace dust was tested. Batch leaching studies and XRD, XRF and SEM-EDS characterization confirmed the high leaching efficiency of zinc (reaching 99%) and copper (reaching 86%) leaving behind Fe, Al, Ca and Mg in the leaching residue. The separation factor (concentration ratio in pregnant leach solution) between zinc vs. other elements, and copper vs. other elements in the optimum condition could reach 11,700 and 250 times, respectively. The optimum conditions for the leaching scheme were pH 9, MSG concentration 1 M and pulp density 50 g/L. Kinetic studies (leaching time and temperature) revealed that the saturation value of leaching efficiency was attained within 2 h for zinc and 4 h for copper. Modeling of the kinetic experimental data indicated that the role of temperature on the leaching process was minor. The study also demonstrated the possibility of MSG recycling from pregnant leach solutions by precipitation as glutamic acid (>90% recovery).

The effect of various reaction temperature on the hydrocracking of Cerbera manghas oil to produce a paraffin-rich mixture of hydrocarbons with Co-Ni/HZSM-5 as doubled promoted catalyst were studied. The Co-Ni/HZSM-5 catalyst with various metal loading and metal ratio was prepared by incipient wetness impregnation. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, AAS, and N2 adsorption-desorption. Surface area, pore diameter, and pore volume of catalysts decreased with the increasing of metals loading. The hydrocracking process was conducted under hydrogen initial pressure in batch reactor equipped with a mechanical stirrer. The reaction was carried out at a temperature of 300-375 oC for 2 h. Depending on the experimental condition, the reaction pressure changed between 10 bar and 15 bar. Several parameters were used to evaluate biofuel produced, including oxygen removal, hydrocarbon composition and gasoline/kerosene/diesel yields. Biofuel was analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic (FTIR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The composition of hydrocarbon compounds in liquid products was similar to the compounds in the gasoil sold in unit of Pertamina Gas Stations, namely pentadecane, hexadecane, heptadecane, octadecane, and nonadecane with different amounts for each biofuel produced at different reaction temperatures. However, isoparaffin compounds were not formed at all operating conditions. Pentadecane (n-C15) and heptadecane (n-C17) were the most abundant composition in gasoil when Co-Ni/HZSM-5 catalyst was used. Cerbera Manghas oil can be recommended as the source of non-edible vegetable oil to produce gasoil as an environmentally friendly transportation fuel.

In this study, hydrocracking of coconut oil over Ni-Fe/HZSM-5 catalyst was carried out in a batch reactor under different reaction temperature. Coconut oil is proposed as one of the potential feedstock for biofuel production. The Ni-Fe/HZSM-5 catalyst was prepared by incipient wetness impregnation method. The characterization of Ni-Fe/HZSM-5 catalyst by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDAX), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The chemical composition of biofuel was analyzed by Gas-Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The results from the GC-MS analysis showed that the hydrocracking reaction over 10 % (Ni-Fe)/HZSM-5 catalyst at temperature of 375 oC obtained the highest hydrocarbon content (contained 49.4% n-paraffin, 26.93 % isoparaffin, 3.58 % olefin) and the highest yield of bio-gasoil 38.6 % in the biofuel liquid hydrocarbon. Pentadecane (n-C15) and heptadecane (n-C17) were the most abundant hydrocarbon compounds in biofuel liquid hydrocarbon. Decarboxylation and/or decarbonylation was the dominant reaction pathways in this process. Based on the result, the reaction temperature had a significant effect on the distribution of biofuel composition and yield of biofuel from coconut oil.

This present study was aimed to investigate the hydrocracking of coconut oil using Ni-Fe/HZSM-5 catalyst in a batch reactor at three reaction temperatures (350, 375, and 400 °C). The Ni-Fe/HZSM-5 catalyst was prepared by using incipient wetness impregnation. The Ni-Fe/HZSM-5 catalyst was characterized using XRD, BET, and SEM-EDX. From XRD results, the loading of Ni and Fe did not change the crystalline structure of HZSM-5 catalyst. The surface area of HZSM-5 was 425 m2/g and decreased after the addition of metals (Ni and Fe) into HZSM-5 support. These changes implied that Ni and Fe particles were successfully dispersed on the HZSM-5 surface and incorporated into HZSM-5 pore. The product of hydrocarbon biofuel was analyzed using GC-MS. The GC-MS results of hydrocarbon biofuel showed the highest compounds for n-paraffin and yield for gasoil was 39.24 and 18.4% at a temperature of 400 °C, respectively. The reaction temperature affected the yield and the composition of hydrocarbon biofuel. At this reaction temperature condition, decarboxylation and decarbonylation were favored; lead to the formation of n-alkanes with an odd number of carbon atoms chain length.