Consolidation of lignin solvolysis and hydrodeoxygenation

Abstract

Described herein are systems and methods for the conversion of biomass, including lignin, into compounds useful as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Advantageously, the provided systems and methods remove the need for reductive catalytic fractionization and the use bioderived solvents rather than expensive exogenous solvents to increase energy efficiency and reduce processing costs. Instead, the described processes utilize flow through solvolysis and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) as a single, flow-through process to convert biomass into useful fuels.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 reacting biomass via solvolysis in the presence of water, a biomass-derived solvent, and a catalyst, thereby generating an intermediate; and   reacting the intermediate via hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) thereby generating a fuel.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fuel comprises deoxygenated aromatic or cycloalkane hydrocarbons. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of reacting biomass is performed in a flow through reactor and the step of reacting the intermediate is performed in a second reactor; and
 the flow through reactor and the second reactor are a single process unit.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein there is no additional processing between the reacting biomass step and the reacting the intermediate step. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biomass comprises lignin. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the lignin is derived from pine, poplar, birch or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biomass-derived solvent is derived from lignin. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the biomass-derived solvent comprises 4-ethyl guaiacol. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the catalyst comprises Mo 2 C. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the catalyst comprises Ru/C. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method is performed as a single flow-based process. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method converts biomass into SAF with the proviso that reductive catalytic fractionation is not performed. 
     
     
         13 . A system comprising:
 a flow through reactor configured to perform solvolysis;   a second reactor directly connected to the flow through reactor configured to perform HDO.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the flow through reactor, the second reactor or both comprise a catalyst. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the catalyst comprises Mo 2 C. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the catalyst comprises Ru/C. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the system is configured to convert biomass into fuel. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the fuel comprises deoxygenated aromatic or cycloalkane hydrocarbons. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the biomass comprises lignin.