Conversion of biogas to liquid fuels

Abstract

Biogas is converted to a liquid fuel by passing the biogas through a liquid reaction medium that contains a petroleum fraction in the presence of a transition metal catalyst, and doing so at an elevated but non-boiling temperature.

1 . A process for producing liquid fuel from a biogas, said method comprising:
 (a) passing said biogas through a liquid petroleum fraction at a temperature of about 100° C. or above but below boiling, while contacting said biogas and said liquid petroleum fraction with a transition metal to produce a gaseous effluent; and   (b) condensing said effluent to liquid form.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said transition metal is a metal with an atomic number from 23 to 79. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said transition metal is a metal with an atomic number from 24 to 74. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step (a) is performed while contacting said biogas and said liquid petroleum fraction with a plurality of transition metals in metallic form. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 4  wherein said transition metals comprise cobalt, nickel, and tungsten. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 4  wherein said transition metals comprise cobalt, nickel, tungsten, and iron. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said liquid petroleum fraction is a member selected from the group consisting of mineral oil, diesel oil, naphtha, kerosene, gas oil, and gasoline. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step (a) is performed at a temperature of from about 100° C. to about 250° C. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step (a) is performed at a temperature of from about 150° C. to about 200° C. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step (a) is performed at a pressure of from about 1 atmosphere to about 2 atmospheres. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said biogas is a member selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, and mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said biogas is natural gas.