Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

Virginia M Roberts

Michel A Daage

Paul D Oldenburg

Paul Joseph Berlowitz

James Ronald Bielenberg

David C Long

Kun Wang

Halou Oumar-Mahamat

Michel Daage

Bradley R Fingland

Suzzy Chen Hsi Ho

Patrick Loring Hanks

William Joseph Novak

Suzzy C Ho

Frank Cheng-Yu Wang

Peter Domaille

Suzzy CH Ho

Paul D Oldbenburg

Patrick L Hanks

Systems and methods are provided for processing a feed derived from a biomass source that contains nitrogen in the form of fatty amides, e.g., derived from hydrothermal processing of a biomass source feed, while reducing/minimizing the amount of heteroatom removal performed during subsequent/concurrent hydroprocessing. Optionally, the feed can also contain free fatty acids. This is accomplished in part by first exposing the feed to a catalyst comprising a rare earth oxide, alkali oxide, and/or alkaline earth oxide, which can remove the nitrogen heteroatoms from the compounds within the feed or can convert the nitrogen to a form readily removed in subsequent hydroprocessing. The catalyst may also suitable for catalyzing coupling (such as condensation) or conversion reactions of amides, carboxylic acids, carboxylic acid derivatives, and/or other molecules in the feed suitable for participating in the coupling reaction.

Production of lubricant base oils from biomass

Provided are processes for making hydrocarbons from renewable feed sources. In an embodiment, there is provided a method for co-producing lube basestock and transportation fuel from a feedstock of biological origin, the method including: a) converting a feedstock of biological origin to a ketone or a dimer acid in the presence of a first catalyst; and b) hydrogenating the ketone or the dimer acid to produce a hydrocarbon in the presence of a second catalyst comprising a hydrogenation catalyst and a hydrothermally stable binder.

Process for making lube base stocks from renewable feeds

Provided are processes for making saturated hydrocarbons from renewable feed sources. In an embodiment, a process for producing a lube basestock and/or a diesel fuel from a feedstock of biological origin includes: contacting the feedstock in a single reactor in the presence of hydrogen with catalyst components including a first catalyst and a second catalyst, wherein the first catalyst comprises an acidic material, a basic material, or a combination of both, and wherein the second catalyst is a hydrogenation catalyst including a hydrothermally stable binder.

Process for making saturated hydrocarbons from renewable feeds

Methods are provided for processing glycerides to form lubricant boiling range molecules in a single reactor and/or a single reaction zone. The glycerides are exposed to catalysts that are stable under the conditions present in the reaction zones during conversion of glycerides to fatty ketones via a coupling reaction in the presence of a first catalyst, and the subsequent deoxygenation and isomerization of the ketones in the presence of a second dewaxing catalyst. The glyceride-containing feedstock can further include free fatty acids or fatty acid derivatives that can also be used for formation of ketones and subsequent deoxygenation and isomerization. In some configuration, the processing can occur in a single reaction zone containing mixed beds of the first and second catalyst. Such configurations can be used to control the ratio of diesel boiling range molecules versus lubricant boiling range molecules generated by the methods.

Systems and methods are provided for enhancing the integration of processes for recovering products from algae-derived biomass. The enhanced process integration allows for increased use of input streams and other reagents that are derived from renewable sources. This increases the overall renewable character of the products extracted from the algae-derived biomass. The process integration can include exchange of input streams or energy between an algae processing system and a system for processing non-algal biomass. One example of improving process integration is using oxygenates that are generated in a renewable manner as a reagent for enhancing the algae processing system.

Integrated bioprocessing for fuel production

Biomass based feeds are processed under hydrothermal treatment conditions to produce a hydrocarbon liquid product and a solids portion. The hydrothermal treatment is performed in the presence of catalyst particles. The presence of the heterogeneous catalyst can modify the nature of the hydrocarbon products produced from the hydrothermal treatment. After the hydrothermal treatment, the catalyst particles can be separated from the algae-based solids, to allow for recycle of the catalyst particles.

Catalyst recovery in hydrothermal treatment of biomass

Biomass based feeds are processed under hydrothermal treatment conditions, e.g., to produce a hydrocarbon liquid product and a solids portion. The hydrothermal treatment is performed in the presence of a dissolved catalyst or catalyst precursor. The presence of the dissolved catalyst or catalyst precursor can modify the nature of the hydrocarbon products produced from the hydrothermal treatment.

Catalytic hydrothermal treatment of biomass

Biomass based feeds are processed under hydrothermal treatment conditions to produce a hydrocarbon liquid product and a solids portion. The solids portion can contain a portion of the phosphorus from the biomass feed. The amount of phosphorus in the solids portion can be increased for some biomass feeds by adding a multivalent metal to the feed. The phosphorus from the solids portion can be recycled for further use, such as for growth of additional biomass.

Phosphorus recovery from hydrothermal treatment of biomass

Biomass based feeds are processed under hydrothermal treatment conditions, e.g., to produce a hydrocarbon liquid product and a solids portion. The hydrothermal treatment can be performed in the presence of heterogeneous catalyst particles that can optionally include a catalyst metal or metal salt. The presence of the heterogeneous catalyst can modify the nature of the hydrocarbon products produced from the hydrothermal treatment.

Hydrothermal treatment of biomass with heterogeneous catalyst

This invention relates to a method for processing oxygenated hydrocarbons to form a hydroisomerized and/or dewaxed hydrocarbon product having a reduced oxygen content, an increased iso-paraffin content, a low n-paraffin content, and good cold flow properties. Advantageously, the method can utilize a zeolitic base catalyst, optionally but preferably containing at least one activated metal component, and a hydrothermally-stable binder such as titania.

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Summit, NJ, United States of America

Virginia M Roberts