Production of High Quality Syncrude from Lignocellulosic Biomass

[EN] Wood chips were hydrothermally treated in near critical point water in the presence of a catalyst to yield a raw biocrude, containing a wide range of organic components. This product was subsequently distilled to remove its heaviest fraction, which tends to yield chary products if heated above 350 degrees C. The biocrude obtained has an oxygen content of 12wt% and was subsequently hydrotreated to obtain a hydrocarbon stream. Varying the hydrotreatment operating conditions and catalyst yielded a deoxygenated syncrude which quality improved with operation severity. The hydroprocessed stream produced under very mild conditions can be further upgraded in conventional refinery operations while the stream produced after more severe hydrotreatment can be mixed with conventional diesel. This proof of concept was demonstrated with commercial hydrotreating catalysts, operating between 350 and 380 degrees C, 40 to 120bar pressure and 0.5 to 1h(-1) contact time.The authors thank Licella for material and financial support, as well as providing the biocrude used for the hydrotreating experiments. Licella gratefully acknowledges support from the Australian Government in the form of funding as part of the Advanced Biofuels Investment Readiness Program, received through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Financial support by the Spanish Government-MINECO through program "Severo Ochoa" (SEV 2012-0267), CTQ2015-70126-R (MINECO/FEDER), and by the Generalitat Valenciana through the Prometeo program (PROMETEOII/2013/011) is also acknowledged.Mathieu, Y.; Sauvanaud, LL.; Humphreys, L.; Rowlands, W.; Maschmeyer, T.; Corma Canós, A. (2017). Production of High Quality Syncrude from Lignocellulosic Biomass. ChemCatChem. 9(9):1574-1578. doi:10.1002/cctc.201601677S157415789