Khawiyatur Riv'ah Agustina, Riki Subagyo, Stella Jovita, Nurul Asikin-Mijan, Hasliza Bahruji, Didik Prasetyoko, Istadi Istadi, Widiasih Widiasih, Habiddin Habiddin
Jet fuel range hydrocarbons were obtained from the deoxygenation of waste cooking oil by tailoring the acidity of mesoporous silica (MS) to enhance cycloparaffin production. The MS was synthesized using a Sapindus rarak (SPr) extract as a natural saponin-based template, providing a sustainable route to high-surface-area MS. However, poor deoxygenation of waste cooking oil on MS resulted in 75% of the uncondensed gases due to low acidity. A series of NiO loadings was impregnated onto MS to enhance acidity and facilitate the efficient deoxygenation of Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) into liquid biojet fuel. Well-dispersed 5NiO on MS enhanced acidity to 40.2 μmol/g, while maintaining the high surface area of 587 m2/g and pore size of 6.07 nm. The deoxygenation of WCO produced hydrocarbons in the biojet fuel range with 76.6% selectivity to the C8-16 fraction. The biojet fuel consisted of 29.4% paraffins, 15.9% olefins, 7.0% aromatics, and a significantly high cycloparaffin content (27.5%), which is essential for increasing the energy density of jet fuel. This study elucidates the roles of mesoporosity and acidity in producing biojet fuel hydrocarbons with a high cycloparaffin composition. © 2026 Elsevier Inc.
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Keputih, Sukolilo, Surabaya, 60111, Indonesia; Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, 43600, Malaysia; Department for Advanced Material and Energy Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Brunei Darussalam; Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Diponegoro, Central Java, Semarang, 50275, Indonesia; Department of Physics Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Terbuka, Jl. Cabe Raya, Pondok Cabe, Pamulang, Selatan, Tangerang, 15437, Indonesia; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Jl. Semarang 5, Malang, 65145, Indonesia
