Method for producing liquefied fuel oil using biomass as feedstock

#This application is a National Stage of International Application No. PCT/JP2008/063457 filed Jul. 18, 2008, claiming priority based on Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2007-193166 and 2008-165185, filed Jul. 25, 2007 and Jun. 25, 2008 respectively, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

#The present invention relates to a method for producing a liquefied fuel oil using biomass as a feedstock; and more particularly, to a method for producing a liquefied fuel oil from biomass wherein a solvent is added to biomass, and the biomass is liquefied at a temperature where pyrolysis of the biomass occurs.

#Examples of conventional methods for producing liquefied fuel oils using biomass as feedstocks are as follows. In Patent Documents 1 to 3, a liquefaction catalyst for biomass, which is potassium carbonate dissolving in water, and biomass, which is wood chips, are processed at 200 to 385° C., thereby producing a liquefied fuel oil in a yield of 23 to 45 wt % based on the biomass solids content.

#FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the apparatus used in the production method of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the apparatus used in the production method of the present invention.

#1 Solvent storage tank 2 Solvent 3 Solvent transfer line 4 Solvent transfer pump 5 Solvent heater 6 Biomass liquefaction reactor 7 Biomass 8 Dehydration catalyst for liquefied fuel oil 9 Perforated plate 10 Heating device of biomass liquefaction reactor 11 Transfer line for liquefied fuel oil 12 Gas/liquid separation tank 13 Gas product 14 Liquefied fuel oil 15 Gas product transfer line 16 Gas product withdrawal valve 17 Liquefied fuel oil transfer line 18 Liquefied fuel oil withdrawal valve 19 Storage tank for liquefied fuel oil 20 Liquefied fuel oil transfer line 23 Liquefied fuel oil transfer line 24 Liquefied fuel oil transfer pump 25 Liquefied fuel oil heater 26 Liquefied fuel oil dehydration reactor 28 Dehydration catalyst 29 Perforated plate 30 Heating device of liquefied fuel oil dehydration reactor 31 Transfer line for dehydrated liquefied fuel oil 32 Gas/liquid separation tank 33 Gas product 34 Dehydrated liquefied fuel oil 35 Gas product transfer line 36 Gas product withdrawal valve 37 Dehydrated liquefied fuel oil transfer line 38 Dehydrated liquefied fuel oil withdrawal valve 39 Recovery device for liquefaction solvent 40 Recovered solvent line 41 Dehydrated liquefied fuel oil transfer line

#The present invention is described in detail below based on embodiments.

#The biomass of the invention includes lignocellulose. Lignocellulose is an organic compound composed of structural polysaccharides, i.e., cellulose and hemicellulose, and lignin. Biomass containing such lignocellulose can be used as a feedstock for the liquefied fuel oil of the present invention. The lignocellulose content in the biomass is not particularly limited, but lignocellulose is preferably a principal component of the biomass. By “principal component” is meant that the proportion of the lignocellulose component in the biomass is high; specifically, it is preferable to use biomass whose total content of the lignin component, cellulose component, and hemicellulose component in the solids content excluding the moisture content from the biomass is at least 50 wt %, and preferably 80 wt %. Specific examples of such biomass include staple crops such as wheat, rice, corn, soybean, barley, sorghum, sugarcane, potatoes, cassava, sugar beet, and residues thereof; oil crops such as palm, sunflower, rapeseed, Jatropha curcas, peanuts, castor-oil plant, and residues thereof; energy crops such as aleman grass, reed grass, cardoon, kenaf, Miscanthus, poplar, tall fescue, napier grass, guinea grass, willow, and switch grass; forestry wastes such as forest residues, thinnings, and industrial residual scrap wood; municipal wastes, and industrial wastes such as scrap wood from construction, pruning residues, and waste paper; residues of lignocellulose saccharification; ethanol distillation waste; etc.