In this work, the production of renewable hydrocarbons was explored by the means of waste cottonseed oil (WCSO) micropyrolysis at 500 °C. Catalytic upgrading of the pyrolysis vapors was studied using α-Al₂O₃, γ-Al₂O_3, Mo-Co/γ-Al₂O₃, and Mo-Ni/γ-Al₂O₃ catalysts. The oxygen removal efficiency was much lower in non-catalytic pyrolysis (18.0%), whilst γ-Al₂O₃ yielded a very high oxygen removal efficiency (91.8%), similar to that obtained with Mo-Co/γ-Al₂O₃ (92.8%) and higher than that attained with Mo-Ni/γ-Al₂O₃ (82.0%). Higher conversion yields into total renewable hydrocarbons were obtained with Mo-Co/γ-Al₂O₃ (61.9 wt.%) in comparison to Mo-Ni/γ-Al₂O₃ (46.6%). GC/MS analyses showed a relative chemical composition of 31.3, 86.4, and 92.6% of total renewable hydrocarbons and 58.7, 7.2, and 4.2% of oxygenated compounds for non-catalytic bio-oil (BOWCSO), BOMoNi and BOMoCo, respectively. The renewable hydrocarbons that were derived from BOMoNi and BOMoCo were mainly composed by olefins (35.3 and 33.4%), aromatics (31.4 and 28.9%), and paraffins (13.8 and 25.7%). The results revealed the catalysts’ effectiveness in FFA decarbonylation and decarboxylation, as evidenced by significant changes in the van Krevelen space, with the lowest O/C ratio values for BOMoCo and BOMoNi (O/C = 0–0.10) in relation to the BOWCSO (O/C = 0.10–0.20), and by a decrease in the presence of oxygenated compounds in the catalytic bio-oils.

In 2019, much of the northeastern coast of Brazil was impacted by a mysterious oil spill that caused an environmental disaster affecting 1009 beaches. Four samples were collected in the beaches between Sergipe and Pernambuco for geochemical characterization of the spilled oil and to compare with those main produced in Sergipe-Alagoas basin. Our approach in this evaluation was the use of a highly selective technique of sequential mass spectrometry by multiple reaction monitoring, to obtain the diagnostic ratios of hopanes and steranes biomarkers. Using these biomarkers ratios associated with multivariate statistical analysis, we found direct correlation between the spilled oil collected along the northeastern coast and no relationship between Sergipe-Alagoas basin crude oils was found. Furthermore, reported data for oils from Orinoco belt in Venezuelan basins were used for qualitative evaluation considering the indicative aspects suggested by the literature. Presence of highly specific biomarker 18α(H)-oleanane, and five other important diagnostic ratios evidenced correlation between the spilled oil and Naricual formation crude oils. Besides, due to the oleanane index, Ayacucho's crude oil presented the strongest factor of correlation with the spilled oil found on the northeast coast of Brazil.

Sustainable hydrocarbons are one of the main methods of decreasing the use of fossil fuels and derivatives, contributing to the mitigation of environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions. Circular economic concepts focus on reusing waste by converting it into new products, which are then input again into industrial production lines, thus decreasing the necessity of fossils. Polypropylene-based plastic waste can be depolymerized into smaller chemical chains, producing a liquid phase rich in hydrocarbons. In the same way, triacylglycerol-based waste biomasses can also be converted into renewable hydrocarbons. Our research studied the co-processing of polypropylene (PP) and cottonseed oil dreg (BASOs) waste from the biodiesel industry using a micropyrolysis system at 550 °C, previously validated to predict the scale-up of the process. PP showed the production of alkanes and alkenes, while BASOs also produced carboxylic acids in addition to the PP products. The main impacts were observed in the conversion yields, reaching the highest values of pyrolytic liquid (64%), gas (14%), and solid product (13%) compared to the co-processing mixture of BASO:PP (1:2). Also, in this mixture, the production of carboxylic acids decreased to the lowest value (~10%), improving the conversion to sustainable hydrocarbons.

Given the large amount of green coconut husk (GCH) waste generated in Brazil and the environmental impacts of improper disposal, this study evaluated pyrolysis as a method for managing and adding value to residual GCH biomass by producing value-added products. GCH exhibited properties suitable for pyrolysis, including high volatile content, low ash content, and a higher heating value (HHV) of approximately 22 MJ kg^–1. Pyrolysis was carried out in a rotary kiln reactor operated at 400, 500, and 600 °C, yielding biochars (29–47 wt %) and bio-oils (6.6–11 wt %). Increasing the temperature intensified biomass thermal degradation, resulting in higher gas production (up to 31.4 wt %). The 400 °C biochar had a higher yield and greater organic functionalization, making it suitable as an adsorbent; the 600 °C biochar had a more aromatic and stable structure, making it promising for carbon sequestration; and the 500 °C biochar balanced functionalization and stability, broadening its application potential. The bio-oils had calorific values between 26 and 31 MJ kg^–1 and moderate viscosity. The highest yield (∼11 wt %) and phenolic monomer content (∼50% by area) were obtained at 500 °C, highlighting the product’s potential for industrial use. The results indicate that pyrolysis at 500 °C is the most favorable condition for the energy and chemical utilization of green coconut biomass, providing a sustainable and viable route for producing value-added bioproducts.

In 2019, the northeast coast of Brazil experienced the country's largest environmental disaster involving a mysterious oil spill. At the same time, two drums containing an oily substance were found ashore on the coasts of Sergipe and Rio Grande do Norte. Since oil spills are often unavoidable, it was necessary to assess the possibility of simultaneous spills. In this context, a new multilayered protocol is proposed in this work to determine the similarity or dissimilarity between the oily substance in the drums and the suspected samples. Due to geographic proximity, samples from the Sergipe-Alagoas basin were also included as suspects, alongside samples collected from the oil spill. Data obtained from reconstructed-ion chromatograms using m/z 85 and m/z 192, as well as hopane and sterane biomarkers analyzed by gas chromatography-based techniques, trace elements determined by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (UHR MS) data, confirmed that the spilled oils originated from the same event. Furthermore, UHR MS, as an additional analytical layer, helped definitively establish the similarity or dissimilarity relationships between the sample sets when analyzed through principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). These results suggest that the oil from the drums does not share similarities with oils produced in the Sergipe-Alagoas basin. However, it does show similarities to mysterious oils found on Brazilian northeast beaches in 2019.