Electric-powered, closed-loop, continuous-feed, endothermic energy-conversion systems and methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, the presently disclosed energy-conversion system includes a shaftless auger. In another embodiment, the presently disclosed energy-conversion system includes a drag conveyor. In yet another embodiment, the presently disclosed energy-conversion system includes a distillation and/or fractionating stage. The endothermic energy-conversion systems and methods feature mechanisms for natural resource recovery, refining, and recycling, such as secondary recovery of metals, minerals, nutrients, and/or carbon char.

A process plant and a process for production of a hydrocarbon suitable for use as jet fuel from a feedstock being a renewable feedstock or an oxygenate feedstock, including combining the feedstock with an amount of a liquid diluent, directing it to contact a material catalytically active in hydrodeoxygenation under hydrotreating conditions to provide a hydrodeoxygenated intermediate product, separating the hydrodeoxygenated intermediate product in at least two fractions; a vapor fraction and a liquid fraction, directing at least an amount of the liquid fraction to contact a material catalytically active in isomerization under isomerization conditions to provide an isomerized intermediate product, directing at least an amount of the isomerized intermediate product and a stream comprising sulfur to provide a hydrocracked intermediate product, and fractionating the hydrocracked intermediate product to provide at least a hydrocarbon suitable for use as jet fuel.

The present technology provides a method that includes contacting a composition with a caustic solution to produce a caustic-treated composition; combining the caustic-treated composition with silica particles to produce a slurry; and removing the silica particles from the slurry to produce a treated composition; wherein the composition includes one or more of animal fats, animal oils, plant fats, plant oils, vegetable fats, vegetable oils, greases, and used cooking oil and the composition includes: at least about 10 wppm of total metals, at least about 8 wppm of phosphorus, at least about 10 wppm of chlorine, at least about 10 wppm of sulfur, at least about 20 wppm of nitrogen, at least about 5 wt. % of free fatty acids; and has an acid number from about 10 mg KOH/g to about 150 mg KOH/g, and the silica particles has a particle size from about 10 microns to about 50 microns, a BET surface area from about 200 m.sup.2/g to about 1000 m.sup.2/g.

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.

The present invention refers to a process for producing a renewable isoparaffin compound with a high octane rating, comprising a step of Guerbet reaction between an initial C5 alcohol charge obtained from renewable raw material and methanol to produce a branched renewable C6 alcohol; dewatering of the branched renewable C6 alcohol into a C6 olefin; and hydrogenation of the C6 olefin into renewable isoparaffin. A renewable isoparaffin compound with a high octane rating, comprising at least 50% carbon of renewable natural origin in its composition, and use of said renewable paraffin in gasolines in general and in special high-performance gasolines, such as aviation gasoline, are also described.

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for treating a fluid produced from a biorefinery to remove contaminants, such as metals and sulfur therefrom. Biomass is pyrolysed and activated to form activated carbon used to remove such contaminants. The fluid produced from the biorefinery may be one or more of a biofuel, a biogas, and wastewater.

A process plant and process for conversion of a hydrocarbonaceous feed, having a feed temperature, to a hydrocarbonaceous effluent, having an effluent temperature, by hydrotreatment, in the presence of a material catalytically active in hydrotreatment and an amount of hydrogen, wherein the conversion is exothermal and wherein an amount of the effluent will solidify at a solidification temperature above the feed temperature and below the effluent temperature, and wherein the feed is preheated by heat exchange, utilizing thermal energy from said effluent, wherein the heat exchange is mediated by a fluid heat exchange medium being physically separated from the feed and the effluent and having a temperature above the solidification temperature, with the associated benefit of such a process being highly energy effective, while avoiding solidification in the process lines, especially when hydrotreating feedstocks including halides.

Bio-based ethanol, such as ethanol produced from lignocellulosic materials, for example, is processed to produce bio-based ethylene, which can then be processed further to produce other bio-based materials including bio-based polymers and copolymers, including bio-based polyethylene, bio-based α-olefins, bio-based 1,2-diols, as well as other compounds.

The invention provides for a fluid having a boiling point in the range of from 100 to 400° C. and comprising more than 95% isoparaffins and containing less than 100 ppm aromatics, obtainable by the process comprising the step of catalytically hydrogenating a feed comprising more than 95% by weight of a hydrodeoxygenated isomerized hydrocarbon biomass feedstock, at a temperature from 80 to 180° C. and at a pressure from 50 to 160 bars. The invention also provides for a fluid having a boiling point in the range of from 100 to 400° C. and a boiling range below 80° C., said fluid comprising more than 95% isoparaffins and less than 3% of naphthens by weight and having a ratio of isoparaffins to n-paraffins of at least 12:1, a biodegradability at 28 days of at least 60%, as measured according to the OECD 306 standard, a biocarbon content of at least 95% by weight, and containing less than 100 ppm aromatics by weight. The invention finally provides for uses of the fluid.

A hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) system can comprise a biomass slurry source, a first pump in fluid communication with the slurry source and configured to pressurize a biomass slurry stream from the slurry source to a first pressure, a first heat exchanger in fluid communication with the first pump and configured to heat a slurry stream received from the first pump to a first temperature, a second pump in fluid communication with the first heat exchanger and configured to pressurize a slurry stream received from the first heat exchanger to a second pressure higher than the first pressure, a second heat exchanger in fluid communication with the second pump and configured to heat a slurry stream received from the second pump to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, and a HTL reactor configured to produce biocrude from a slurry stream received from the second heat exchanger.