Bio-based automotive and industrial lubricants by the optimal hydroisomerization of free fatty acids

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Plant-based oils can be processed to produce long-chain hydrocarbons that can be used to replace conventionalfossil fuels. Altranex has developed a process that produces very high quality hydrocarbon chains that can beused as lubricants. Ideally hydrocarbon lubricants have a large fraction of branched chain molecules in order toimprove viscosity and freezing point characteristics. The process for increasing the fraction of branched-chainmolecules in the hydrocarbon is called hydroisomerization, a process in which hydrogen is reacted with thelinear chains over a selective catalyst to form side chains. The result is a a material with lower viscosity andbetter flow characteristics in general. Although the process is commonly used for processing petroleumproducts, the adaptation for bio-derived fuels requires additional optimization. The outcome of this researchproject will be the optimization of the hydroisomerization process for bio-lubricant production and will lead tothe commercialization of sustainable, low carbon footprint automotive and industrial lubricants that are derivedfrom agricultural products. During the course of the project a PhD student, two MASc students and fourUndergraduate student will will gain first hand knowledge of bio-product development and interact with thescientific staff of Altranex.Altranex Corporation, based in Kingston, Ontario, has a solid plan to commercialize their products and theresults of this collaborative project will provide valuable information that will enable their lubricant products tobe marketable in colder climate regions.