Process for the production of renewable distillate-range hydrocarbons

A process for producing distillate-range hydrocarbons, the process comprising:

• (a) dehydrating bio-alcohols in a fermentation stream comprising isobutanol to form an olefin stream and a water stream wherein the dehydration process is conducted at selected process conditions sufficient to achieve conversion of the bio-alcohols that is 95% or more and wherein an amount of oxygenates in the olefin stream is less than 1 wt. %;
• (b) separating the olefin stream from the water stream;
• (c) contacting the olefin stream with a halometallate ionic liquid catalyst, the halometallate ionic liquid catalyst comprising an organic cation and a halometallate anion, in an oligomerization reactor under oligomerization conditions to form a mixture comprising the halometallate ionic liquid catalyst and an oligomer product, wherein at least 50 wt. % of the oligomer product has boiling point distribution of from 150° C. to 400° C.;
• and
• (d) separating the oligomer product from the halometallate ionic liquid catalyst.