CATALYTIC TRANSFORMATION OF COPAIBA (COPAIFERA-OFFICINALIS) OIL OVER ZEOLITE-ZSM-5

The oil extracted from the trunk of the copaiba tree (Copaifera offici nalis) is composed of sesquiterpenes, C15H24, and a small amount (<7 % ) of sesquiterpenols, C15H26O; these were identified from their Kovats indices and mass spectra. The use of zeolites in the catalytic transf ormation of this renewable source of hydrocarbons is of interest in th e search for new chemicals and ecologically clean fuels. Oil samples f rom copaiba trees growing in Colombia's Oriental Plains were circulate d over zeolite ZSM-5 in a continuous flow fixed-bed micro reactor at 2 25, 265, and 325 degrees C, for 1 h and subsequently analyzed by HRGC and GC-MS. Whereas only thirty four sesquiterpenes were identified in the original oil, over two hundred compounds were found in the product of the treatment of copaiba oil with zeolite ZSM-5. This complex mixt ure of sesquiterpenes, light aromatic compounds, and indene and naphth alene derivatives resulted from reactions such as isomerization, hydro genation, cracking, and dehydrogenation with and without cracking. The amount of cracking products and aromatic compounds increased with rea ctor temperature but decreased with catalyst aging.