Catalytic synthesis of distillate-range ethers and olefins from ethanol through Guerbet coupling and etherification

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Abstract

Ethanol can be converted to heavy diesel ethers and jet fuel precursor olefins through sequential Guerbet coupling and dehydration.

Abstract

Synthesis of distillate-range fuels from biomass-derived alcohols has recently received considerable attention due to projected increases in the demands of these fuels and the extensive commercialization of alcohol production. Here we present a two-stage process by which an alcohol such as ethanol or 1-butanol can be converted with high yields into distillate-range ethers and olefins by combining Guerbet coupling and intermolecular dehydration. The ethers can be used as cetane-improvers in diesel fuel, while the olefins can be hydrogenated and blended with gasoline or oligomerized and hydrogenated to jet-range paraffins. The first stage was executed using calcium hydroxyapatite to produce higher linear and branched alcohols at above 80% selectivity at up to 40% conversion with high stability for over 400 h time-on-stream operation. Increasing conversion decreases selectivity, producing predominantly mono-ene and diene byproducts. Etherification was performed using the acidic resin Amberlyst™ 70 at around 65% conversion. Linear alcohols were converted at above 90% selectivity while branched alcohols were far more selective to olefins (65–75%). Etherification occurs via two mechanisms: a direct mechanism involving the reaction of two alcohols and an indirect mechanism between an alcohol and equilibrated pool of olefins. Cross-etherification was observed between linear and branched alcohols, improving the selectivity to ethers in conversion of the latter. A mixture of C ₄₊ alcohols produced from ethanol condensation at 40% conversion was effectively utilized in etherification at selectivities comparable to the model mixtures. An overall process is presented for the conversion of ethanol to diesel-range ethers and olefins with yields of approximately 80%.

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Integrated catalytic conversion of gamma-valerolactone to liquid alkenes for transportation fuels.

Jesse Q. Bond, David Alonso, Dong Wang … (2010)

Efficient synthesis of renewable fuels remains a challenging and important line of research. We report a strategy by which aqueous solutions of gamma-valerolactone (GVL), produced from biomass-derived carbohydrates, can be converted to liquid alkenes in the molecular weight range appropriate for transportation fuels by an integrated catalytic system that does not require an external source of hydrogen. The GVL feed undergoes decarboxylation at elevated pressures (e.g., 36 bar) over a silica/alumina catalyst to produce a gas stream composed of equimolar amounts of butene and carbon dioxide. This stream is fed directly to an oligomerization reactor containing an acid catalyst (e.g., H ZSM-5, Amberlyst-70), which couples butene monomers to form condensable alkenes with molecular weights that can be targeted for gasoline and/or jet fuel applications. The effluent gaseous stream of CO2 at elevated pressure can potentially be captured and then treated or sequestered to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from the process.