Fluidized upgrading/hydrostabilizing of pyrolysis vapors
AssigneePhillips 66 Company
InventorsKening Gong, Liang Zhang, John R. Copeland, Reed J. Eisenhart
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure relates to processes and systems that convert biomass to stable intermediate hydrocarbon products that having a greatly decreased oxygen content. This stabilized intermediate hydrocarbon product may be easily be stored for an extended period of time, further refined into liquid transportation fuels (either alone or mixed with petroleum-derived hydrocarbons), or blended with petroleum-derived blendstocks to produce a finished liquid transportation fuel.
Claims14
A process for pyrolyzing biomass and upgrading/hydrostabilizing the vapors, comprising:
- a) pyrolyzing a feedstock that is derived from biomass in a first reactor for a residence time of less than 10 seconds in the absence of a catalyst and the presence of a heavy stabilized hydrocarbon fraction consisting of hydrocarbon molecules characterized by a boiling point (at 1 atm.) that is greater than 321° C., to produce a primary pyrolysis product comprising condensable pyrolysis vapors and char;
- b) conveying the condensable pyrolysis vapors to a second reactor containing hydrogen and at least one fluidized bed of at least one catalyst, and contacting the condensable pyrolysis vapors with the at least one catalyst at conditions of temperature that facilitate the production of a stabilized hydrocarbon product, wherein the stabilized hydrocarbon product comprises hydrocarbons having less than 0.1 wt. percent aldehyde functional groups and less than 0.1 wt percent carboxylic acid functional groups;
- c) fractionating the stabilized hydrocarbon product to produce the heavy stabilized hydrocarbon fraction of a), and fuel-range stabilized hydrocarbons characterized by a boiling point ranging from between 25° C. and 321° C.
A system for the production and upgrading/hydrostabilizing of a stabilized pyrolysis product, comprising:
- a. a pyrolysis reactor that does not contain a catalyst and that is configured to fluidize and rapidly pyrolyze a feedstock comprising biomass for a residence time of between 1 and 20 seconds to produce a gaseous product comprising non-condensable light gases, condensable pyrolysis vapors, and char, wherein the pyrolysis reactor comprises:
- a first inlet configured to receive a stabilized heavy hydrocarbon fraction comprising stabilized hydrocarbons that are characterized by a boiling point greater than 350° C.,
- a second inlet configured to receive the biomass feedstock,
- at least one outlet configured to remove the gaseous product from the reactor,
- at least one inlet configured to receive a carrier gas and operable to fluidize the feedstock;
- b. a second reactor containing at least one catalyst in a fluidized bed configuration, wherein the second reactor is configured to receive the gaseous product and maintain a temperature and pressure that facilitate the catalytic conversion of the condensable pyrolysis vapors to produce a stabilized hydrocarbon product;
- c. a fractionation device configured to separate the stabilized hydrocarbon product to produce a heavy stabilized hydrocarbon fraction, the fractionation further comprising an outlet for the heavy stabilized hydrocarbon fraction;
- d. a conduit operably connected to receive the heavy stabilized hydrocarbon fraction and convey it to the pyrolysis reactor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.