Catalysts and processes designed to convert DME and/or methanol and hydrogen (H.sub.2) to desirable liquid fuels are described. These catalysts produce the fuels efficiently and with a high selectivity and yield, and reduce the formation of aromatic hydrocarbons by incorporating H.sub.2 into the products. Also described are process methods to further upgrade these fuels to higher molecular weight liquid fuel mixtures, which have physical properties comparable with current commercially used liquid fuels.

This disclosure relates to catalysts and processes designed to convert DME and/or methanol and hydrogen (H.sub.2) to desirable liquid fuels. These catalysts produce the fuels efficiently and with a high selectivity and yield, and reduce the formation of aromatic hydrocarbons by incorporating H.sub.2 into the products. This disclosure also describes process methods to further upgrade these fuels to higher molecular weight liquid fuel mixtures, which have physical properties comparable with current commercially used liquid fuels.

This disclosure relates to catalysts and processes designed to convert DME and/or methanol and hydrogen (H.sub.2) to desirable liquid fuels. These catalysts produce the fuels efficiently and with a high selectivity and yield, and reduce the formation of aromatic hydrocarbons by incorporating H.sub.2 into the products. This disclosure also describes process methods to further upgrade these fuels to higher molecular weight liquid fuel mixtures, which have physical properties comparable with current commercially used liquid fuels.

A method is provided to transform biomass. Non-food biomass is preprocessed. Then, fermentation is processed to generate ethanol. Ethanol is dehydrated through a catalyst to generate ethylene. After the dehydration, oligomerization is processed with a catalyst to transform ethylene into olefins having 620 carbon atoms (C.sub.6C.sub.20). The olefins are hydrotreated into alkanes. Thus, C.sub.6C.sub.20 hydrocarbons having long carbon chains are formed. The hydrocarbons having 610 carbon atoms can be used as gasoline; those having 816 carbon atoms, jet fuel; and those having 1620 carbon atoms, diesel. On generating ethanol, byproducts of lignin may be generated. The byproducts can be processed through depolymerization/deoxygenation to generate aromatic hydrocarbons or can be gasified to generate methanol or dimethyl ether. By further processing dehydration, aromatic hydrocarbons are generated to be mixed into gasoline, jet fuel or diesel. Or, the lignin byproducts are gasified to generate syngas.

Processes for producing high biogenic concentration Fischer-Tropsch liquids derived from the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (MSW) feedstock that contains a relatively high concentration of biogenic carbon (derived from plants) and a relatively low concentration of non-biogenic carbon (derived from fossil sources) wherein the biogenic content of the Fischer-Tropsch liquids is the same as the biogenic content of the feedstock.

Catalysts and processes designed to convert DME and/or methanol and hydrogen (H.sub.2) to desirable liquid fuels are described. These catalysts produce the fuels efficiently and with a high selectivity and yield, and reduce the formation of aromatic hydrocarbons by incorporating H.sub.2 into the products. Also described are process methods to further upgrade these fuels to higher molecular weight liquid fuel mixtures, which have physical properties comparable with current commercially used liquid fuels.

Described herein are processes and systems for purifying an olefin stream which has at least 99 mol % ethylene, involving use of a sulfur guard bed to yield an effluent from the olefin stream which is substantially free of sulfur; a hydrogenation catalyst to yield an effluent from the sulfur guard bed effluent which is substantially free of sulfur, oxygen, acetylene, methyl acetylene, and propadiene; a copper-metal containing catalyst bed to yield an effluent from the hydrogenation catalyst effluent which is substantially free of sulfur, oxygen, acetylene, methyl acetylene, propadiene, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen; and a desiccant to yield a purified ethylene stream having greater than or equal to 99.875 mol % ethylene.

Carbon-containing materials, such as biomass (e.g., plant biomass, animal biomass, and municipal waste biomass) or coal are processed to produce useful products, such as fuels, carboxylic acids and equivalents thereof (e.g., esters and salts). For example, systems are described that can use feedstock materials, such as cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic materials and/or starchy materials, to produce ethanol, butanol or organic acids (e.g., acetic or lactic acid), salts of organic acids or mixtures thereof. If desired, organic acids can be converted into alcohols, such as by first converting the acid, salt or mixtures of the acid and its salt to an ester, and then hydrogenating the formed ester. Acetogens or homoacetogens which are capable of utilizing a syngas from a thermochemical conversion of coal or biomass can be utilized to produce the desired product.

Processes for converting ethane into ethylene include the steps of subjecting a water feed stream to electrolysis to form O.sub.2 and H.sub.2, subjecting a mixture of ethane and O.sub.2 to oxidative dehydrogenation to form a reaction product containing ethylene, acetic acid, water, and CO/CO.sub.2, separating the reaction product into an ethylene product stream, an acetic acid product stream, a water product stream, and a gas stream containing CO/CO.sub.2, and introducing the water product stream into the water feed stream for electrolysis. The ethylene product stream can be contacted with a suitable polymerization or oligomerization catalyst composition to produce ethylene polymers or ethylene oligomers.

Processes for producing high biogenic concentration Fischer-Tropsch liquids derived from the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (MSW) feedstock that contains a relatively high concentration of biogenic carbon (derived from plants) and a relatively low concentration of non-biogenic carbon (derived from fossil sources) wherein the biogenic content of the Fischer-Tropsch liquids is the same as the biogenic content of the feedstock.