Process for the conversion of biomass to liquid fuels and specialty chemicals
AssigneeKiOR, Inc.
InventorsPaul O'Connor, Dennis Stamires, Sjoerd Daamen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process is disclosed for converting biomass to fuels and/or valuable chemicals. The process comprises the steps of a) activating biomass to make it more susceptible to conversion; c) partially converting the biomass to a solubilized material; and d) subjecting the unconverted biomass to a second conversion step. The process optionally comprises a step b) of adding a solvent to the activated biomass. In a preferred embodiment the solubilized biomass obtained in step c) is removed before the unconverted biomass is subjected to step d).
Claims38
A process for converting biomass to bio-oil, the process comprising:
- (a) mixing biomass and at least one inorganic material having catalytic properties, wherein the at least one inorganic material includes a kaolin, a zeolite, or a mixture thereof;
- and
- (b) converting at least a portion of the biomass to liquid organic compounds.
A process for converting biomass to liquid organic compounds, comprising:
- milling biomass into particles having a mean particle diameter of less than 3 mm;
- drying the milled biomass to at least partially remove water present within the biomass;
- utilizing a catalyst comprising:
- 1) ZSM-5 and 2) a kaolin;
- and
- converting at least a portion of the milled and dried biomass to the liquid organic compounds by heating the biomass in the presence of the catalyst.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.