Carboxylic acids contained in crude oil and bio oil present significant corrosion and handling problems. It is necessary that the acid content is reduced in the bio-oil for upgrading. One potential method is to convert the acids to less corrosive ketones through ketonization. Better understanding of the mechanism over zeolites is needed to utilize the reaction for reducing acid content.

This project will clarify the mechanism of ketonization over zeolites by combining flow reaction results, TPD experiments , 13C-labeling experiments with zeolites and mesoporous zeolites to determine the role of alpha hydrogen and importance in the mechanism of ketonization. This project should bring clarity to this very important reaction, and possibly lead to improved processes for the conversion of carboxylic acids. Key words : Carboxylic acids, Ketonisation, zeolites, ZSM-5, Alpha hydrogen, Mechanism, !3-C labelled experiments.