The production of hydrogen by the catalytic steam reforming of sunflower oil [38] has been
studied. The study was performed in a fixed bed reactor with a commercial nickel based catalyst
for steam reforming naphtha. Sunflower oil was completely converted to hydrogen, methane and
carbon oxides, except for the runs performed at the lowest temperatures and an S/C ratio of 3.
The hydrogen yield ranged from 72% to 87% of the stoichiometric potential, depending on the
steam-to-carbon ratio and the catalyst temperature, which governed the equilibrium among the
gas species.
2.4.1. Pyrolysis of the vegetable oil soaps
In 1947, a large scale thermal cracking of tung oil calcium soap was reported [39]. Tung oil was
saponifed with lime and then thermally cracked to yield a crude oil, which was refined to produce
Diesel fuel and small amounts of gasoline and kerosene. 68 kg of the tung oil soap produced 50 liters
of crude oil.
Pyrolyses of the vegetable oil soaps were performed in an apparatus designed for this purpose.
The main element of this device was a tubular reactor of height 95.1 mm., ID 17.0mm and OD
19.0mm inserted vertically into an electrically heated tubular furnace. A similar pyrolysis apparatus
was illustrated in the earlier study [40].
The saponi.cation and pyrolysis of sodium soap of vegetable oil proceed as follows:
