EP-4739752-A1 - SLURRY HYDROCRACKING OF RENEWABLE FEEDSTOCKS

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a process for upgrading solid biomass feedstocks into more useable products. The process includes introducing a solid biomass feedstock, a renewable liquid carrier, a slurry hydrocracking catalyst to a slurry hydrocracking zone in the presence of hydrogen and under slurry hydrocracking conditions to produce a slurry hydrocracking effluent comprising lighter hydrocarbonaceous products.

Inventors

• KOU, BO
• YANG, SHUWU
• YOUNG, MICHELLE K.
• MAESEN, THEODORUS LUDOVICUS MICHAEL

Assignees

• Chevron U.S.A., Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20240703

Claims (17)

1. 1. A process for upgrading a solid biomass feedstock, the process comprising: introducing a solid biomass feedstock, a renewable liquid carrier, a slurry hydrocracking catalyst to a slurry hydrocracking zone in the presence of hydrogen and under slurry hydrocracking conditions to produce a slurry hydrocracking effluent comprising lighter hydrocarbonaceous products .
2. 2. The process of claim 1, wherein the solid biomass feedstock is selected from the group consisting of agricultural residues, wood materials, municipal waste, algae- derived biomass, energy crops, and any combination thereof.
3. 3. The process of claim 1, wherein the renewable liquid carrier is selected from the group consisting of lipids, tall oil products, pyrolysis oils from biomass, hydrothermal liquef ication oils from biomass, biodiesel, hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids, bio-alcohols , and any combination thereof .
4. 4. The process of claim 1, wherein the slurry hydrocracking catalyst comprises solid catalyst particulates.
5. 5. The process of claim 1, wherein the slurry hydrocracking catalyst comprises molybdenum sulfide, iron sulfide, nickel sulfide, zinc sulfide, iron zinc, or any combination thereof.
6. 6. The process of claim 1, wherein the slurry hydrocracking catalyst is present in an amount of from 0.005% to 3% on a metal basis.
7. 7. The process of claim 1, wherein the slurry hydrocracking zone comprises a fluidized bed reactor.
8. 8. The process of claim 1, wherein the process is conducted in an absence of a liquid fossil-based fuel carrier.
9. 9. The process of claim 1, wherein the renewable liquid carrier is combined with the solid biomass feedstock upstream of the slurry hydrocracking zone to form a combined feed; the combined feed subsequently being introduced to the slurry hydrocracking zone.
10. 10. The process according to claim 1, wherein the slurry hydrocracking catalyst is present in the solid biomass feedstock .
11. 11. The process according to claim 1, wherein the slurry hydrocracking catalyst is present in the renewable liquid carrier .
12. 12. The process of claim 1, wherein a ratio of renewable liquid carrier to solid biomass feedstock is in a range of from 0.1:1 to 20:1
13. 13. The process of claim 1, wherein the slurry hydrocracking effluent comprises at 50 wt. % naphtha and diesel range components .
14. 14. The process of claim 1, wherein the slurry hydrocracking effluent comprises at 75 wt. % naphtha and diesel range components .
15. 15. The process of claim 1, wherein the slurry hydrocracking effluent comprises from 15 wt. % to 30 wt. % naphtha range components and from 40 wt . % to 60 wt . % diesel range components .
16. 16 . The process of claim 1 , further comprising : hydrotreating in a hydrotreating reactor a hydrotreating feed stream taken from the slurry hydrocracking ef fluent in the presence of hydrogen over a hydrotreating catalyst to produce a hydrotreated stream; and separating the hydrotreated stream into at least two hydrocarbon fractions in a separation zone , wherein the at least two hydrocarbon fractions comprise at least a naphtha product fraction and a diesel product fraction .
17. 17 . The process of claim 1 , further comprising recycling at least a portion of the slurry hydrocracking ef fluent to the slurry hydrocracking zone .

Description

SLURRY HYDROCRACKING OF RENEWABLE FEEDSTOCKS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/512,574, filed on July 7, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD [0002] The present disclosure relates to a process for upgrading solid biomass feedstocks into more useable products by slurry hydrocracking. BACKGROUND [0003] With increasing demand for liquid transportation fuels, decreasing reserves of 'easy oil' (crude petroleum oil that can be accessed and recovered easily) and increasing constraints on carbon footprints of such fuels, it is becoming increasingly important to develop routes to produce liquid transportation fuels from biomass in an efficient manner. Such liquid transportation fuels produced from biomass are sometimes also referred to as biofuels. Biomass offers a source of renewable carbon. Therefore, when using such biofuels, it may be possible to achieve more sustainable CO2 emissions over petroleum-derived fuels. [0004] Solid feedstocks such as feedstocks containing lignocellulose (e.g., woody biomass, agricultural residues, forestry residues, residues from the wood products and pulp & paper industries) and municipal solid waste are important feedstocks for biomass-to-fuel processes due to their availability on a large scale. [0005] A two-step process is generally adopted for upgrading solid feedstocks to transportation fuels. The solid feedstock is first liquefied by pyrolysis, hydrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, etc . to produce bio-crude . The biocrude is subsequently hydrotreated to reduce the viscosity and oxygen content to produce transportation fuel . Without hydrogenation, the liquefied bio-crude products have low quality ( e . g . , in terms of contaminants , stability, homogeneity, etc . ) which can pose signi ficant challenges for further upgrading at a downstream hydrotreating unit . Therefore , it is desirable to have high quality biocrude from liquefaction which can be directly upgraded in a hydrotreating unit . SUMMARY [ 0006 ] The present disclosure relates to a process for upgrading a solid biomass feedstock which comprises introducing a solid biomass feedstock, a renewable liquid carrier, a slurry hydrocracking catalyst to a slurry hydrocracking zone in the presence of hydrogen and under slurry hydrocracking conditions to produce a slurry hydrocracking ef fluent comprising lighter hydrocarbonaceous products . DETAILED DESCRIPTION Definitions [ 0007 ] The term "hydrocracking" , as used herein, refers to a process in which hydrocarbons crack in the presence of hydrogen to lower molecular weight hydrocarbons . Hydrocracking also includes slurry hydrocracking in which feed is mixed with catalyst and hydrogen to make a slurry and cracked to lower boiling products . [ 0008 ] The term "hydrotreating" refers to processes wherein a hydrogen-containing treat gas is used in the presence of suitable catalysts which are primarily active for the removal of heteroatoms , such as sul fur, nitrogen, oxygen and metals from the hydrocarbon feedstock . In hydrotreating, hydrocarbons with double and triple bonds such as olefins may be saturated. Aromatics may also be saturated. Some hydrotreating processes are specifically designed to saturate aromatics. In hydrotreating, a feed derived from a biological source is subjected to deoxygenation. [0009] The term "Cn hydrocarbons" or "Cn", is used herein having its well-known meaning, that is, wherein "n" is an integer value, and means hydrocarbons having that value of carbon atoms. The term "Cn+ hydrocarbons" or "Cn+" refers to hydrocarbons having that value or more carbon atoms . The term "Cn- hydrocarbons" or "Cn-" refers to hydrocarbons having that value or less carbon atoms. [0010] The term "hydrocarbon" is used in the conventional sense to refer to a compound containing only carbon and hydrogen atoms . [0011] The t erm "hydrocarbonaceous" can be used to refer to compounds, mixtures, and/or other fractions that are substantially composed of hydrocarbons or hydrocarbon-like compounds, but that may also include heteroatoms (i.e., not carbon or hydrogen) . Examples of such heteroatoms include sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen and various trace metals such as alkali metals and alkaline earth metals. For a mixture or fraction, the combined carbon and hydrogen content of a hydrocarbonaceous mixture or fraction can correspond to at least 85 wt. % of the total weight of a mixture or fraction, or at least 90 wt . % , or at least 95 wt . % , or at least 98 wt . % , such as up to 100 wt . % (i.e., a hydrocarbon mixture or fraction is included within the definition for a hydrocarbonaceous fraction) . It is noted that a hydrocarbonaceous sample can correspond to a portion of one or more hydrocarbonaceous compounds, mixtures, and/or fractions. [0012] The term "biomass" refers to, without limitation, organic material originating