A method for producing a renewable base oil from a feedstock of biological origin includes providing a feedstock, the feedstock including: 2-95 wt % of a mixture of free fatty acids; 5-98 wt % fatty acid glycerols selected from mono-glycerides, di-glycerides and tri-glycerides of fatty acids; 0-50 wt % of one or more compounds selected from the list consisting of: fatty acid esters of the non-glycerol type, fatty amides and fatty alcohols; a major part of the feedstock being a mixture of free fatty acids and fatty acid glycerols; subjecting all or part of the feedstock to ketonisation reaction conditions where two free fatty acids react to yield a ketone stream, and subjecting the ketone stream to both hydrodeoxygenation and to hydroisomerisation reaction conditions, to yield a deoxygenated and isomerised base oil product stream containing the renewable base oil.

Methods and systems for hydrodeoxygenating a bio-derived feedstock during the production of renewable diesel and generating renewable power as part of the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) process are provided herein. One method includes providing an HDO catalyst within either a shell or tube side of an isothermal HDO reactor including a shell-and-tube configuration and exposing a bio-derived feedstock to the HDO catalyst within the isothermal HDO reactor to form an HDO reactor effluent. The method also includes flowing a water stream through the opposite side of the isothermal HDO reactor as compared to the side including the HDO catalyst to remove the heat of reaction between the bio-derived feedstock and the HDO catalyst, where the removal of the heat of reaction using the water stream forms steam. The method further includes flowing the steam through a steam turbine to provide for the generation of renewable power.

The present invention describes a method to produce high purity hydrocarbon materials from renewable sources. The produced materials are chemically indistinguishable from highly refined mineral oils and/or synthetic hydrocarbons. These renewable hydrocarbon materials can be used as a drop-in replacement for mineral and synthetic hydrocarbon base oils, process fluids, white oils in products such as lubricants, rubber, personal care, pharma.

The present invention relates to a composition and a method of preparing the composition where the composition comprising functionalized lignin having a weight average molecular weight (M.sub.w) of at least 1,000 g/mol and a green carrier liquid comprising depolymerized functional lignin, wherein the functionalized lignin is dissolved in the green carrier liquid and wherein the amount of depolymerized functionalized lignin compounds in the composition is higher than the amount of functionalized lignin.

The invention relates to a catalytic process for upgrading a renewable crude oil produced from biomass and/or waste comprising providing a renewable crude oil and pressurizing it to a pressure in the range in the range 60 to 150 bar, contacting the pressurized renewable crude oil with hydrogen and at least one heterogeneous catalyst contained in a first reaction zone at a weight based hourly space velocity (WHSV) in the range 0.1 to 2.0 h.sub.−1 and at a temperature in the range of 150° C. to 360° C., hereby providing a partially upgraded renewable crude oil, separating the partially upgraded renewable crude oil from the first reaction zone to a partially upgraded heavy renewable oil fraction, a partially upgraded light renewable oil fraction, a water stream and a process gas stream, introducing the separated and partially upgraded heavy renewable oil fraction and separated process gas to a second reaction zone comprising at least two reactors arranged in parallel and being adapted to operate in a first and a second mode of operation, the reactors comprising dual functioning heterogeneous catalyst(-s) capable of performing a catalytic steam cracking reaction in a first mode of operation or a steam reforming reaction in a second mode of operation, where the partially upgraded heavy renewable oil fraction from the first reaction zone is contacted with the dual functioning heterogeneous catalyst and steam at a pressure of 10 to 150 bar and a temperature of 350° C. to 430° C. whereby a catalytic steam cracking of the partially upgraded heavy renewable oil is performed in the reactors in the first mode of operation, hereby providing a further upgraded heavy renewable oil fraction, while separated process gas from the first and/or second reaction zone is contacted with the dual functioning catalyst and steam at a pressure of 0.1 to 10 bar and a temperature of 350 to 600° C. in the reactors in the second mode of operation and contacted with the dual functioning catalyst, thereby producing a hydrogen enriched gas, separating the further upgraded heavy renewable oil fraction from the catalytically steam cracking reactor to at least one light renewable oil fraction, a heavy renewable oil fraction, a hydrogen rich process gas and a water phase, separating hydrogen from the hydrogen enriched gas from the catalytic steam cracking zone and/or from the catalytic steam reforming and recycling it to the first reaction zone, alternating the reactors between the first mode of operation and the second mode of operation at predetermined time intervals thereby allowing for regeneration of the heterogeneous catalyst for the catalytic steam cracking in the first mode of op

A system and method for renewable diesel synthesis utilizes a triglyceride feedstock derived from biological sources. The first step involves hydrolysis of the triglycerides into an intermediate feedstock comprising a mixture of free fatty acids and glycerol (separated from the FFA by decantation and then distilled). The FFA is then further processed in a distillation step to produce a stream free of catalyst poisons and utilized as feedstock for hydrotreatment in a renewable diesel production process. By converting the initial triglyceride feedstock to an FFA feedstock, the need to hydrotreat at typical high temperature that promote the decarboxylation reaction is obviated, thereby reducing the production of CO2, generating a significantly higher proportion of saturated, long chain C14, C16 or C18 hydrocarbons (as opposed to short-chain carbons such as propane), and the more valuable glycerol product is secured.

Methods and systems for hydrodeoxygenating a bio-derived feedstock during the production of renewable diesel and generating renewable power as part of the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) process are provided herein. One method includes providing an HDO catalyst within either a shell or tube side of an isothermal HDO reactor including a shell-and-tube configuration and exposing a bio-derived feedstock to the HDO catalyst within the isothermal HDO reactor to form an HDO reactor effluent. The method also includes flowing a water stream through the opposite side of the isothermal HDO reactor as compared to the side including the HDO catalyst to remove the heat of reaction between the bio-derived feedstock and the HDO catalyst, where the removal of the heat of reaction using the water stream forms steam. The method further includes flowing the steam through a steam turbine to provide for the generation of renewable power.

A C.sub.31 renewable base oil is disclosed that is suitable as a base oil to provide low viscosity base oils, such as having both low Noack volatility and low CCS-30° C. viscosity and/or to provide low viscosity base oils at the same time having a combination of acceptable HTHS and KV100 to allow the industry's base oil blenders to formulate high quality engine oils, such as SAE grade 0W-20, 0W-16, 0W-12 or 0W-8.

A method for producing renewable diesel includes introducing a primary feedstock comprising biologically-derived triglycerides with catalyst poisons into a first reaction chamber and hydrolyzing the primary feedstock within the first reaction and liquid-liquid extraction chamber for at least an hour such that the reacted triglycerides are separated into an aqueous solution comprising glycerol and catalyst poisons, and an intermediate feedstock comprising free fatty acids and catalyst poisons. The method also includes distilling the intermediate feedstock to separate the intermediate feedstock into a purified intermediate stream and a lower volume bottom stream containing unreacted triglyceride, diglyceride, monoglyceride, FFA and catalyst poisons. The method also includes combining the purified intermediate feedstock with a hydrogen stream and converting, in a second reaction chamber comprising a metallic catalyst bed, the purified intermediate feedstock into a product comprising long-chain alkanes. The method also includes hydrotreating the purified intermediate feedstock into a renewable diesel product.

The present technology relates to hydrocarbon fuels comprising renewable content. More particularly, the technology relates to manufacture of renewable diesel for potential use as aviation turbine fuel blendstock.