effect of chemically reduced palladium supported catalyst on sunflower oil hydrogenation conversion and selectivity

Catalytic hydrogenation of sunflower oil was studied in order to improve the conversion and to reduce the trans-isomerization selectivity. The hydrogenation was performed using Pd–B/γ-Al2O3 prepared catalyst and Pd/Al2O3 commercial catalyst under similar conditions. The Pd–B/γ-Al2O3 catalyst was prepared by wet impregnation and chemical reduction processes. It was characterized by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis (BET), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The result of sunflower oil hydrogenation on Pd–B/γ-Al2O3 catalyst showed a 17% higher conversion and a 23% lower trans-isomerization selectivity compared to the commercial Pd/Al2O3 catalyst. The chemical reduction of palladium supported catalyst using potassium borohydride (KBH4) has affected the Pd–B/γ-Al2O3 catalyst’s structure and particle size. These most likely influenced its catalytic performance toward higher conversion and lower trans-isomerization selectivity.