Upgrading bio-waste in FCC

#This application relates to processes and systems for producing renewable biofuels from bio-waste sources, including palm oil mill effluent and soapstock.

#Long-term sustainability is a concern for biofuels production as global demand for biofuels increases. Feedstocks for biofuels production may be sourced from on-purpose production of so called “energy crops” which may contain raw materials which may be converted to biofuels through chemical processing. The on-purpose production of energy crops directly competes with the food industry for arable land and water resources fueling sustainability concerns.

#Agricultural products such as animal fats and vegetable oils may have waste streams associated with the production of the agricultural products which present additional cost to the production of the agricultural products. Such waste streams may contain valuable renewable carbon resources, but also pose environmental issues in disposal. Similarly, growing fuels in principle should reduce emissions, there may be several waste streams generated either from the refining of the raw materials or in the production of the biofuels through chemical processing that must be properly disposed of. Some waste streams may contain toxic or harmful chemicals which were utilized in refining raw materials and production of biofuels which must be eliminated or sequestered before disposal. Waste streams may also contain more benign chemicals such as fatty acids which may not be immediately toxic or harmful, but in the context of disposal of the waste stream create serious environmental concerns. Wastewater which contains carbon may be particularly amendable to microbial digestion which if discharged into rivers and streams can rapidly deplete oxygen in the water. Discharge of such wastewater streams may lead to irreversible ecological damage including killing of aquatic life and other deleterious downstream effects. In addition to environmental concerns, waste streams from biofuels production also represent wasted opportunity cost as carbon in the waste streams does not end up in fuels, thereby lowering the efficiency of biofuels production.

#The drawings illustrate certain aspects of the present disclosure and should not be used to limit or define the disclosure.

#FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of process for producing palm oil.

#FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process for producing vegetable oil.

#This application relates to processes and systems for producing renewable biofuels from bio-waste sources, including palm oil mill effluent (POME) and soapstock. As discussed above, there are waste streams associated with the production of agricultural products such as palm oil and vegetable oil which may have a high biological oxygen demand (BOD) due to the presence of carbon containing compounds, nitrogen containing compounds, and minerals which may be particularly amenable to microbial digestion. Conventional methods for disposal of the bio-waste streams represent additional costs to production of the agricultural products and a waste of the carbon resources in the bio-waste streams.

#Transportation is difficult to decarbonize due to the need for energy dense fuel sources. Conventional transportation fuels are advantageous as they are readily produced from fractional distillation of crude oil, have high energy density, and are liquid across a broad range of temperatures and pressures. The hydrocarbons in transportation fuel are typically mixtures of paraffins, naphthenes, and aromatics with carbon numbers from about 6 to 20 (C6-C20). Jet fuels, for example, are typically formulated with various ratios of isomers of C9-C16 hydrocarbons to provide the desired freezing point, density, autoignition temperature, and other physical properties. The bio-waste streams associated with palm oil and vegetable oil production contain carbon compounds with carbon chain lengths that are within the carbon ranges that may be ideal to be converted to renewable bio-fuel. As used herein, bio-fuel and derivatives thereof are paraffins, naphthenes, and aromatics with carbon numbers from C3-C20.

#Methods disclosed herein may utilize bio-waste streams as a feedstock to a catalytic cracking unit to produce bio-fuel with carbon numbers from C3-C20. The methods disclosed herein may include separating/converting a bio-waste stream into a carbon containing fraction, introducing the carbon containing fraction into a fluidized catalytic cracking unit, and contacting the carbon containing fraction with a catalyst at conditions operable to crack at least a portion of the carbon containing fraction to shorter chain hydrocarbon bio-fuels with carbon numbers from C3-C20.