Disclosed herein are embodiments of a method and system for converting ethanol to para-xylene. The method also provides a pathway to produce terephthalic acid from biomass-based feedstocks. In some embodiments, the disclosed method produces p-xylene with high selectivity over other aromatics typically produced in the conversion of ethanol to xylenes, such as m-xylene, ethyl benzene, benzene, toluene, and the like. And, in some embodiments, the method facilitates the ability to use ortho/para mixtures of methylbenzyaldehyde for preparing ortho/para xylene product mixtures that are amendable to fractionation to separate the para- and ortho-xylene products thereby providing a pure feedstock of para-xylene that can be used to form terephthalic anhydride and a pure feedstock of ortho-xylene that can be used for other purposes, such as phthalic anhydride.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a method and system for converting ethanol to para-xylene. The method also provides a pathway to produce terephthalic acid from biomass-based feedstocks. In some embodiments, the disclosed method produces p-xylene with high selectivity over other aromatics typically produced in the conversion of ethanol to xylenes, such as m-xylene, ethyl benzene, benzene, toluene, and the like. And, in some embodiments, the method facilitates the ability to use ortho/para mixtures of methylbenzyaldehyde for preparing ortho/para xylene product mixtures that are amendable to fractionation to separate the para- and ortho-xylene products thereby providing a pure feedstock of para-xylene that can be used to form terephthalic anhydride and a pure feedstock of ortho-xylene that can be used for other purposes, such as phthalic anhydride.

A process for producing propylene involves dehydration of isopropanol. The dehydration process includes a step of subjecting a starting material containing isopropanol to a dehydration reaction in the presence of a dehydration catalyst comprising alumina to produce a product containing propylene. The starting material has a water content of 0.1 to 10.0 wt % (relative to 100 wt % of the total mass of the starting material), and the product has a total content of C2 unsaturated impurities and C3-C4 unsaturated impurities of 80 ppm or less (relative to 100 wt % of the total mass of the product).

The invention relates to a process for the dehydrogenation of a feedstock comprising ethanol, using at least one multitubular reactor advantageously comprising a plurality of tubes comprising at least one dehydrogenation catalyst, and a calender, said feedstock being introduced into the tubes in gas form, at an inlet temperature of greater than or equal to 240° C., a pressure between 0.1 and 1.0 MPa, and a WWH between 2 and 15 h.sup.−1, wherein a heat-transfer fluid circulates in said calender at a flow rate such that the weight ratio of said heat-transfer fluid relative to said feedstock is greater than or equal to 1.0, and such that said heat-transfer fluid is introduced into said calender in gas form at an inlet temperature of greater than or equal to 260° C. and at an inlet pressure of greater than or equal to 0.10 MPa, and less than or equal to 1.10 MPa, and leaves the calender at least partly in liquid form.

An alpha olefin synthesis process includes (i) subjecting a first normal alpha olefin to hydroformylation in the presence of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to form a first linear aldehyde, (ii) subjecting the first linear aldehyde to decarbonylative olefination to form a linear internal olefin, (iii) subjecting the linear internal olefin to isomerization-hydroformylation in the presence of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to form a second linear aldehyde, and (iv) subjecting the second linear aldehyde to hydrogenation to form a linear alcohol followed by dehydration to form a second normal alpha olefin, or subjecting the second linear aldehyde to combined hydrogenation-dehydration in a single step to form a second normal alpha olefin. Using this process, for example, ethylene can be converted to 1-hexene, and 1-butene can be converted to 1-decene.

The present invention discloses processes for producing normal alpha olefins, such as 1-hexene, 1-octene, 1-decene, and 1-dodecene in a multistep synthesis scheme from another normal alpha olefin. Also disclosed are reactions for converting aldehydes, primary alcohols, and terminal vicinal diols into normal alpha olefins.

The present invention discloses processes for producing normal alpha olefins, such as 1-hexene, 1-octene, 1-decene, and 1-dodecene in a multistep synthesis scheme from another normal alpha olefin. Also disclosed are reactions for converting aldehydes, primary alcohols, and terminal vicinal diols into normal alpha olefins.

Catalyst compositions for the conversion of aldehyde compounds and primary alcohol compounds to olefins are disclosed herein. Reactions include oxidative dehydroxymethylation processes and oxidative dehydroformylation methods, which are beneficially conducted in the presence of a sacrificial acceptor of H.sub.2 gas, such as N,N-dimethylacrylamide.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a method and system for converting ethanol to para-xylene. The method also provides a pathway to produce terephthalic acid from biomass-based feedstocks. In some embodiments, the disclosed method produces p-xylene with high selectivity over other aromatics typically produced in the conversion of ethanol to xylenes, such as m-xylene, ethyl benzene, benzene, toluene, and the like. And, in some embodiments, the method facilitates the ability to use ortho/para mixtures of methylbenzyaldehyde for preparing ortho/para xylene product mixtures that are amendable to fractionation to separate the para- and ortho-xylene products thereby providing a pure feedstock of para-xylene that can be used to form terephthalic anhydride and a pure feedstock of ortho-xylene that can be used for other purposes, such as phthalic anhydride.

The present disclosure relates to a process for the hydrodeoxygenation of vegetable oils or animal fats to produce green diesel, which comprises contacting the vegetable oil or animal fat with a Nickel-Molybdenum or Cobalt-Molybdenum catalyst supported on alumina-titania or titania, respectively; in a fixed bed reactor in the presence of hydrogen. The process involves hydrocracking, hydrogenation, decarboxylation, decarbonylation, carried out in a fixed bed reactor at temperature of about 270 C. to about 360 C., pressure of about 40 kg.sub.f/cm.sup.2 to about 60 kg.sub.f/cm.sup.2, liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) between about 0.8 h.sup.1 to about 3.0 h.sup.1, and H.sub.2/oil ratio of about 2,700 ft.sup.3/bbl to about 7,000 ft.sup.3/bbl, that allows to obtain a conversion up to 99% and up to 92.7% yield on green diesel.