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

植物油可以加工成长链碳氢化合物，用来替代传统的化石燃料。Altranex开发了一种生产高质量碳氢化合物链的工艺，可以用作润滑剂。理想情况下，烃类润滑剂含有大量支链分子，以改善粘度和凝固点特性。增加碳氢化合物中支链分子的比例的过程称为氢异构化，这是一个氢与线性链在选择性催化剂上反应形成侧链的过程。其结果是一种具有较低粘度和更好的流动特性的材料。虽然该工艺通常用于加工石油产品，但适应生物衍生燃料需要额外的优化。该研究项目的结果将是优化生物润滑油生产的加氢异构化过程，并将导致从农产品中提取的可持续、低碳足迹的汽车和工业润滑油的商业化。在项目过程中，一名博士生，两名MASc学生和四名本科生将获得生物产品开发的第一手知识，并与Altranex的科学人员进行互动。总部位于安大略省金斯敦的Altranex公司有一个将其产品商业化的坚实计划，该合作项目的结果将提供有价值的信息，使其润滑油产品能够在寒冷气候地区销售。

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.