The present disclosure generally relates to the production of fuels, gasoline additives, and/or lubricants, and precursors thereof. The compounds used to produce the fuels, gasoline additives, and/or lubricants, and precursors thereof may be derived from biomass. The fuels, gasoline additives, and/or lubricants, and precursors thereof may be produced by a combination of intermolecular and/or intramolecular aldol condensation reactions, Guerbet reactions, hydrogenation reactions, and/or oligomerization reactions.

A method of producing a fuel additive includes producing a first product stream comprising butadiene by passing a feed stream comprising C4 hydrocarbons through a steam cracker; transforming greater than or equal to 90 weight % of the butadiene in the first product stream into a second product stream by passing the first product stream through a first hydrogenation unit, wherein the second product stream comprises 1-butene, 2-butene, n-butane, isobutylene, isobutane, or a combination thereof; and converting the second product stream into the fuel additive by passing the second product stream through a fuel additive synthesis unit with an acid catalyst.

Processes for the hydrogenolysis of butane are described. A process can include (a) introducing a butane feed and hydrogen to a first hydrogenolysis reactor comprising a hydrogenolysis catalyst, and (b) contacting the butane feed and hydrogen with the hydrogenolysis catalyst at conditions sufficient to produce a first hydrogenolysis product stream. The introduction of the butane feed stream and hydrogen to the first hydrogenolysis reactor can be controlled to maintain a hydrogen to butane molar ratio in the reactor inlet of 0.3:1 to 0.8:1.

A method is provided comprising exposing a supported heterogeneous metathesis catalyst to an olefin compound for an activation time at an activation temperature; exposing the activated supported heterogeneous metathesis catalyst to a reactant capable of undergoing a metathesis reaction for a reaction time at a reaction temperature to produce metathesis products; and exposing the deactivated supported heterogeneous metathesis catalyst to a regenerating compound for a regeneration time at a regeneration temperature. The activity of the regenerated supported heterogeneous metathesis catalyst may be substantially the same or greater than the activity of the activated supported heterogeneous metathesis catalyst prior to deactivation. The activation temperature may be greater than the reaction temperature. The regenerating compound may be a second olefin compound or an inert gas.

Integrated systems are provided for the production of higher hydrocarbon compositions, for example liquid hydrocarbon compositions, from methane using an oxidative coupling of methane system to convert methane to ethylene, followed by conversion of ethylene to selectable higher hydrocarbon products. Integrated systems and processes are provided that process methane through to these higher hydrocarbon products.

The present invention concerns a reactor for the conversion of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide into hydrocarbon and/or alcohol comprising a support made from an electrically and thermally conductive material, forming the wall or walls of at least one longitudinal channel that passes through the support and also acting as the cathode of the reactor, at least one wire electrode forming an anode of the reactor, and extending within each longitudinal channel, and being arranged at a distance from the wall or walls of the longitudinal channel, each wire electrode optionally being covered with an electrically insulating layer along the part of the wire electrode extending within the longitudinal channel, a catalyst capable of catalysing a conversion reaction for the conversion of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide into hydrocarbon and/or alcohol, the catalyst being situated between the wire electrode and the wall or walls of each longitudinal channel.

Methods of converting ethane to ethylene at relatively low temperatures are described. Ir02-based catalysts are used in the conversion. Methods of converting a base gas to a first gas by exposing the base gas to an IrO2-based catalyst and forming the first gas are described. The base gas can be an alkane. The first gas can include an alkene, an alkyne, an alcohol, an aldehyde, or combinations thereof.

Process for hydrogenating aromatic compounds over a solid catalyst in the presence of a hydrogen-containing gas comprising a first reactor operated in loop mode, a second reactor operated in straight pass, at least part of the output of the first reactor is supplied to the second reactor, characterized in that the first reactor is configured as a trickle bed reactor and is operated in trickle bed mode and the second reactor is operated such that the catalyst present therein is partially flooded.

A novel catalyst composition and its use in the dehydrogenation of alkanes to olefins. The catalyst comprises a Group VIII noble metal and a metal selected from the group consisting of manganese, vanadium, chromium, titanium, and combinations thereof, on a support. The Group VIII noble metal can be platinum, palladium, osmium, rhodium, rubidium, iridium, and combinations thereof. The support can be silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, aluminum oxide, silica-alumina, cerium dioxide, zirconium dioxide, magnesium oxide, metal modified silica, silica-pillared clays, silica-pillared micas, metal oxide modified silica-pillared mica, silica-pillared tetrasilicic mica, silica-pillared taeniolite, zeolite, molecular sieve, and combinations thereof. The catalyst composition is an active and selective catalyst for the catalytic dehydrogenation of alkanes to olefins.

Methods for preparing isotopically modified 1,4-diene systems from non-isotopically modified 1,4-dienes involve selective oxidation of one or more bis-allylic position(s), or the preparation of isotopically modified 1,4-diene systems via trapping pi-allylic complexes with a source of deuterium or tritium. Such methods are useful for preparing isotopically modified polyunsaturated lipid including polyunsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acid derivatives.