Even carbon number paraffin composition and method of manufacturing same

Abstract

Paraffin compositions including mainly even carbon number paraffins, and a method for manufacturing the same, is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the method involves contacting naturally occurring fatty acid/glycerides with hydrogen in a slurry bubble column reactor containing bimetallic catalysts with equivalent particle diameters from about 10 to about 400 micron. The even carbon number compositions are particularly useful as phase change material.

1 . A process for producing hydrocarbons from biomass, comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing a biological feedstock containing free fatty acids, fatty acid esters, or combinations thereof; and   (b) subjecting the biological feedstock to heat in the presence of hydrogen with a catalyst slurry having an equivalent particle diameter of about 10 microns to about 400 microns to produce hydrocarbons which are predominantly even carbon number paraffins.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the renewable biological feedstock comprises vegetable oils, plant oils, algal oils, animal fats, tall oil fatty acid, products of the food industry such as greases, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the step of subjecting the biological feedstock to heat in the presence of hydrogen and the catalyst occurs in a plurality of reactors. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the step of subjecting the biological feedstock to heat in the present of hydrogen and the catalyst occurs in a slurry bubble column reactor. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 4  wherein heat of reaction is removed by circulation of a heat transfer fluid. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 4  wherein heat of reaction is removed by water vaporization. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the step of subjecting the biological feedstock to heat in the present of hydrogen and the catalyst occurs in a mechanically stirred reactor. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 7  wherein heat of reaction is removed by circulation of a heat transfer fluid. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 7  wherein heat of reaction is removed by water vaporization. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 9  wherein water vaporization is used to produce high pressure steam. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the catalyst is a supported nickel-molybdenum, nickel-tungsten, or cobalt-molybdenum catalyst. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 11  wherein the catalyst support is aluminum oxide, aluminum or aluminum with phosphorous oxides. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the catalyst is a modified nickel-aluminum or cobalt-aluminum sponge-metal catalyst. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 13  wherein the modifier for the sponge-metal catalyst is molybdenum. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the catalyst has an equivalent particle diameter of about 30 to about 80 microns. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 1  wherein at least about 75 wt % of the n-paraffins are even carbon number n-paraffins. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 16  wherein the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-octadecane and n-hexadecane. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 16  wherein the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-octadecane and n-docosane. 
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 1  wherein at least about 80 wt % of the paraffins are even carbon number paraffins. 
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 19  wherein the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-octadecane and n-hexadecane. 
     
     
         21 . The process of  claim 19  wherein the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-octadecane and n-docosane.