Process For Production Of Distillate Fuel (Chevron)

CATEGORY: BIODIESEL
Process For Production Of Distillate Fuel (Chevron)

Type	Patent
Inventor	Guangci Zhou
Inventor	William James Cannella
Inventor	Stephen Harold Roby
URL	Free Full Text Source:  http://www.google.com/patents/US20140058147
Assignee	Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Patent Number	US20140058147 A1
Issue Date	Feb 27, 2014
Abstract	The present invention is directed to preparing distillate fuel having almost no oxygen and no carbon-to-carbon double bonds. The method comprises passing biodiesel and/or lipids derived from vegetable oils, algae oils, and/or animal fats over bio-feedstock, or lipids, conversion catalyst that performs the hydrocarbon isomerization function, removes oxygen from the feedstock, cracks off the C3 backbone, and saturates double bonds. The process is a single step process eliminating the need of a separate costly hydrotreating step while producing a renewable source distillate fuel. BACKGROUND Biofuels are of increasing interest for a number of reasons including: (1) they are a renewable resource, (2) their production is less dependent on geopolitical considerations, (3) they provide the possibility of a direct replacement of petroleum-based fuels in existing vehicles, and (4) the net greenhouse gas emissions can be substantially reduced by virtue of carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake by biofuel precursors—particularly in the case of cellulose feedstocks. An easily-obtainable bio-feedstock is vegetable oil, which largely comprises triglycerides and some free fatty acids. Other similar bio-feedstocks are algae oils and animal fats. However, the properties of these oils and fats generally are not sufficient for use as a direct replacement for petroleum diesel in vehicle engines, as the oils and fats can have viscosities and back-end distillation properties that are generally too high and do not burn cleanly enough, thereby leaving damaging carbon deposits on the engine. Additionally, these oils and fats gel at higher temperatures, thereby hindering their use in colder climates. These problems are mitigated when the oils and fats are blended with petroleum fuels, but still remain an impediment for long-term use in diesel engines. Vegetable oils, algae oils, and animal fats are composed of long chain fatty acid esters of glycerol. These materials can be transesterified with methanol to produce fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), or biodiesel. Fatty acid methyl esters have some issues, though, notably poor low temperature viscometrics and poor oxidation stability, when compared to conventional hydrocarbon or petroleum-derived diesel. Fatty acid methyl esters contain a fair amount of oxygen, generally over ten percent by weight on average, and any unsaturation in the carbon chains is retained. Depending on the animal fat or vegetable oil used to make the biodiesel, the fatty acid methyl esters would contain between one and three carbon-to-carbon double bonds. However, the greater the unsaturation present in the fatty acid methyl esters, the better the low temperature properties, but poorer the oxidation stability. Poor low temperature viscometrics limit the use of fatty acid methyl esters in colder climates where the biodiesel will form wax crystals that plug fuel filters. Poor oxidation leads to the formation of insoluble gums and resins that can plug fuel filters, reducing storage stability to as little as six months as opposed to one year or longer storage stability for petroleum distillate fuel. Both of these problems can be solved by severely hydrotreating the fatty acid methyl esters or the original lipid to convert them to saturated hydrocarbons, and then isomerizing the straight chain hydrocarbons to improve their low temperature viscometrics. However, these conventional processes require a number of complex steps and the hydrotreating process is generally very costly. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved process for high conversions of lipids and fatty acid methyl esters into acceptable distillate-compatible fuels, particularly when such a process eliminates the need for a separate hydrotreating step.

Process For Production Of Distillate Fuel (Chevron)

CATEGORY: BIODIESEL 
Process For Production Of Distillate Fuel (Chevron)

Type	Patent
Inventor	Guangci Zhou
Inventor	William James Cannella
Inventor	Stephen Harold Roby
URL	Free Full Text: http://www.google.com/patents/US20140058148
Assignee	Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Patent Number	US20140058148 A1
Issue Date	Feb 27, 2014
Abstract	The present invention is directed to preparing distillate fuel having almost no oxygen and no carbon-to-carbon double bonds. The method comprises passing biodiesel and/or lipids derived from vegetable oils, algae oils, and/or animal fats over a bio-feedstock, or lipids, conversion catalyst that performs the hydrocarbon isomerization function, removes oxygen from the feedstock, cracks off the C3 backbone, and saturates double bonds. The process is a single step process eliminating the need of a separate costly hydrotreating step while producing a renewable source distillate fuel. BACKGROUND Biofuels are of increasing interest for a number of reasons including: (1) they are a renewable resource, (2) their production is less dependent on geopolitical considerations, (3) they provide the possibility of a direct replacement of petroleum-based fuels in existing vehicles, and (4) the net greenhouse gas emissions can be substantially reduced by virtue of carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake by biofuel precursors—particularly in the case of cellulose feedstocks. An easily-obtainable bio-feedstock is vegetable oil, which largely comprises triglycerides and some free fatty acids. Other similar bio-feedstocks are algae oils and animal fats. However, the properties of these oils and fats generally are not sufficient for use as a direct replacement for petroleum diesel in vehicle engines, as the oils and fats can have viscosities and back-end distillation properties that are generally too high and do not burn cleanly enough, thereby leaving damaging carbon deposits on the engine. Additionally, these oils and fats gel at higher temperatures, thereby hindering their use in colder climates. These problems are mitigated when the oils and fats are blended with petroleum fuels, but still remain an impediment for long-term use in diesel engines. Vegetable oils, algae oils, and animal fats are composed of long chain fatty acid esters of glycerol. These materials can be transesterified with methanol to produce fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), or biodiesel. Fatty acid methyl esters have some issues, though, notably poor low temperature viscometrics and poor oxidation stability, when compared to conventional hydrocarbon or petroleum-derived diesel. Fatty acid methyl esters contain a fair amount of oxygen, generally over ten percent by weight on average, and any unsaturation in the carbon chains is retained. Depending on the animal fat or vegetable oil used to make the biodiesel, the fatty acid methyl esters would contain between one and three carbon-to-carbon double bonds. However, the greater the unsaturation present in the fatty acid methyl esters, the better the low temperature properties, but poorer the oxidation stability. Poor low temperature viscometrics limit the use of fatty acid methyl esters in colder climates where the biodiesel will form wax crystals that plug fuel filters. Poor oxidation leads to the formation of insoluble gums and resins that can plug fuel filters, reducing storage stability to as little as six months as opposed to one year or longer storage stability for petroleum distillate fuel. Both of these problems can be solved by severely hydrotreating the fatty acid methyl esters or the original lipid to convert them to saturated hydrocarbons, and then isomerizing the straight chain hydrocarbons to improve their low temperature viscometrics. However, these conventional processes require a number of complex steps and the hydrotreating process is generally very costly. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved process for high conversions of lipids and fatty acid methyl esters into acceptable distillate-compatible fuels, particularly when such a process eliminates the need for a separate hydrotreating step.

Methods and compositions for biodistillate fuels containing tallow esters and having low metals uptake (Exxonmobil)

CATEGORY: BIODIESEL 
Methods and compositions for biodistillate fuels containing tallow esters and having low metals uptake (Exxonmobil)

Type	Patent
Inventor	Paul P. Wells
Inventor	Krystal B. Wrigley
URL	Free Full Text: http://www.google.com/patents/US20140137464
Assignee	Exxonmobil Research And Engineering Company
Patent Number	US20140137464 A1
Issue Date	May 22, 2014
Abstract	The invention relates to methods and compositions for attaining acceptably low uptake of zinc and copper metals in a renewable component of a distillate boiling range fuel composition. The method can advantageously comprise the steps of providing the renewable component comprising blending a tallow ester feed and at least one of soybean oil ester feed and palm oil ester feed, such that the tallow ester feed comprises from about 35 vol % to about 90 vol % of the renewable component, and exposing the renewable component blend to a source of zinc or copper under conditions sufficient for copper and/or zinc to leach into the renewable component, but only to an acceptably low level.   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Biodiesel is the name for a variety of ester-based oxygenated fuels made from vegetable oils, fats, greases, or other sources of triglycerides. Biodiesel is a nontoxic and biodegradable blendstock which may be blended with petroleum diesel provided relevant specifications are met. Biodiesel has been designated as an alternative fuel by the United States Department of Energy and the United States Department of Transportation, and is registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a fuel and fuel additive. Because biodiesel is made from numerous different feedstocks (e.g., rapeseed oil and palm oil), including mixed feedstocks, a finished fuel manufacturer is often not aware of the exact feedstock composition of a purchased biodiesel. Biodiesel is commonly referred to by its feedstock source (e.g., rapeseed methyl ester, palm oil methyl ester). Since the performance of a biodiesel depends upon the particular feedstock mixture from which it was produced, formulators are therefore often unable to predict how the biodiesel will perform in the finished fuel blend. For example, in the absence of accurate feedstock information, it can prove difficult to anticipate whether any given biodiesel will afford a performance advantage such as an improved cetane number, or will in fact suffer from a performance disadvantage (such as poor low-temperature operability) that might call for the addition of a performance enhancer. Lack of a reliable biodiesel compositional profile also complicates fuel formulators' efforts to design biodiesel blends that satisfy applicable regulatory standards such as ASTM D975, ASTM D7467 Standard Specification for Diesel Fuel Oil, Biodiesel Blend (B6-B20), and EN590. The performance criteria and characteristics mandated by such standards are linked inextricably with a biodiesel's composition. It is known that tallow esters can exhibit rather high acid numbers and relatively high uptake of metals, particularly copper and zinc. Indeed, European Publication No. EP 1674553, which centers on issues relating to inhibiting corrosion in engines, specifically teaches not to use tallow esters such as methyl tallow, but instead prefers methyl esters of rapeseed (RME), soybean (SME), palm (PME), and/or coconut (CME) oils. Furthermore, where tallow esters are used in the art, their use is typically limited to relatively small amounts. Please note U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0138679, which discloses blends of SME, TME, RME, and PME, but which seems to suggest the use of TME sparingly, if at all, by limiting the TME content in its blends to 25 vol % at most. Accordingly, the opportunity exists for methods of attaining acceptably low metals (e.g., copper and/or zinc) uptake levels by unexpectedly using renewable components (e.g., of biodiesel compositions/blends) that contain a relatively large proportion of tallow esters, despite the relatively poor metals (e.g., copper and/or zinc) uptake properties of the pure tallow ester component themselves (e.g., an individual 24-hour metal uptake of 1 ppm or more for copper and/or zinc).

Experimental Investigations On A Diesel Engine Fuelled With Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Blended Biodiesel Fuels

International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering, Volume 3, Special Issue 3: ICERTSD 2013, Feb 2013, pages 72-76
Presented at International Conference on Energy Resources and Technologies for Sustainable Development, 07-09 February 2013, Howrah, India.
Experimental Investigations On A Diesel Engine Fuelled With Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Blended Biodiesel Fuels
Prajwal Tewari (1), Eshank Doijode (1), N.R. Banapurmath (2), V.S. Yaliwal (3)
nr_banapurmath@rediffmail.com
nr_banapurmath@bvb.edu
1 Students,
2 Professor, B.V.B. College of Engineering and Technology, Hubli 580031, India
3 Assistant Professor, S.D.M. College of Engineering and Technology, Dharwad 580 002, Karnataka, India
Abstract
Experimental investigations were carried out to determine performance, emission, and combustion characteristics of diesel engine using multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) blended biodiesel fuels. The fuel combinations used for the study were neat diesel for base line data generation, and CNT blended –biodiesel.
The biodiesel was prepared from honge oil called Honge Oil Methyl Ester [HOME]. The MCNTs were blended with the biodiesel fuel in the mass fractions of 25 and 50 ppm with the aid of a mechanical homogenizer and an ultrasonicator. Subsequently, the stability characteristics of MWCNT blended –biodiesel fuels were analyzed under static conditions.
The investigation were carried out using an experimental set-up consisting of a single-cylinder diesel engine coupled with an eddy current dynamometer loading device, an MRU 1600s five gas analyzer, a Hartridge smoke meter, and a data-acquisition system comprising a high pressure piezoelectric pressure sensor and a crank angle encoder. All the experiments were conducted at a constant speed of 1500 rpm and the results revealed that a considerable enhancement in the brake thermal efficiency and substantial reduction in the harmful pollutants due to the incorporation of MWCNTs in the biodiesel fuels were observed.
Free Full Text Source: http://www.ijetae.com/files/Conference%20ICERTSD-2013/IJETAE_ICERTSD_0213_12.pdf