Integrated biodiesel production process

Abstract

Integrated processes for the production of fatty acid alkyl ester-based biodiesel and the production of tri-isoalkyl glycerols are disclosed.

1 . A process for the production of a biodiesel fuel, comprising:
 feeding a tertiary alkyl ether to a decomposition reaction zone containing at least one decomposition catalyst;   contacting the tertiary alkyl ether with the at least one decomposition catalyst at a temperature and a pressure to decompose the tertiary alkyl ether into an alcohol and an isoolefin;   separating the alcohol and isoolefin to recover a fraction comprising the alcohol and a fraction comprising the isoolefin;   feeding at least a portion of the fraction comprising the alcohol and at least one of a vegetable oil and an animal fat to a transesterification reaction zone;   contacting the alcohol and the at least one of a vegetable oil and an animal fat in the presence of at least one transesterification catalyst under conditions of temperature and pressure sufficient to transesterify the vegetable oil or animal fat to form a transesterification product comprising fatty acid alkyl esters and glycerol;   separating the transesterification product to recover a fraction comprising the fatty acid alkyl esters and a fraction comprising the glycerol;   feeding at least a portion of the fraction comprising the glycerol and at least a portion of the fraction comprising the isoolefin to an etherification reaction zone;   contacting the isoolefin and the glycerol in the presence of at least one etherification catalyst under conditions of temperature and pressure to form an etherification product comprising at least one of mono-tertiary alkyl glycerol, di-tertiary alkyl glycerol, and tri-tertiary alkyl glycerol;   separating the etherification product to recover a fraction comprising di-tertiary alkyl glycerol and tri-tertiary alkyl glycerol.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising using at least one of the fraction comprising di-tertiary alkyl glycerol and tri-tertiary alkyl glycerol and the fraction comprising the fatty acid alkyl esters to form a biodiesel fuel or a biodiesel fuel additive. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising combining at least a portion of the fraction comprising di-tertiary alkyl glycerol and tri-tertiary alkyl glycerol and at least a portion of the fraction comprising the fatty acid alkyl esters to form a biodiesel fuel or a biodiesel fuel additive. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the tertiary alkyl ether comprises at least one of methyl tertiary butyl ether, ethyl tertiary butyl ether, tertiary amyl methyl ether, and tertiary amyl ethyl ether, the alcohol comprises at least one of methanol and ethanol, and the isoolefin comprises at least one of isobutylene and isoamylenes. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the tertiary alkyl ether comprises methyl tertiary butyl ether, the isoolefin comprises isobutylene, and the alcohol comprises methanol. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the fraction comprising the isoolefin has a purity of at least 99.5 wt. % isoolefin. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the contacting the tertiary alkyl ether and the separating the alcohol and isoolefin are conducted concurrently in a catalytic distillation reactor system. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising feeding at least one of water and a water equivalent to the decomposition reaction zone. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the decomposition catalyst comprises at least one of a heterogeneous decomposition catalyst, a homogeneous decomposition catalyst, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising feeding a carbohydrate to the transesterification reaction zone. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the vegetable oil comprises at least one of canola oil and corn oil. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein contacting the alcohol and the separating the transesterification product are conducted concurrently in a catalytic distillation reactor system. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the transesterification catalyst comprises at least one of a heterogeneous decomposition catalyst, a homogeneous decomposition catalyst, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the etherification catalyst comprises at least one of a heterogeneous decomposition catalyst, a homogeneous decomposition catalyst, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         15 . A process for the production of a biodiesel fuel, comprising:
 feeding methyl tertiary butyl ether to a decomposition reaction zone containing at least one decomposition catalyst;   contacting the methyl tertiary butyl ether with the at least one decomposition catalyst at a temperature and a pressure to decompose the methyl tertiary butyl ether into methanol and isobutylene;   separating the methanol and isobutylene to recover a fraction comprising the methanol and a fraction comprising the isobutylene;   feeding at least a portion of the fraction comprising the methanol and at least one of a vegetable oil and an animal fat to a transesterification reaction zone;   contacting the methanol and the at least one of a vegetable oil and an animal fat in the presence of at least one transesterification catalyst under conditions of temperature and pressure sufficient to transesterify the vegetable oil or animal fat to form a transesterification product comprising fatty acid methyl esters and glycerol;   separating the transesterification product to recover a fraction comprising the fatty acid methyl esters and a fraction comprising the glycerol;   feeding at least a portion of the fraction comprising the glycerol and at least a portion of the fraction comprising the isobutylene to an etherification reaction zone;   contacting the isobutylene and the glycerol in the presence of at least one etherification catalyst under conditions of temperature and pressure to form an etherification product comprising at least one of mono-tertiary butyl glycerol, di-tertiary butyl glycerol, and tri-tertiary butyl glycerol;   separating the etherification product to recover a fraction comprising di-tertiary butyl glycerol, and tri-tertiary butyl glycerol.   
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 15 , further comprising using at least one of the fraction comprising di-tertiary butyl glycerol and tri-tertiary butyl glycerol and the fraction comprising the fatty acid methyl esters to form a biodiesel fuel or a biodiesel fuel additive. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 15 , wherein the fraction comprising the isobutylene has a purity of at least 99.5 wt. % isobutylene. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 15 , wherein the contacting the methyl tertiary butyl ether and the separating the methanol and isobutylene are conducted concurrently in a catalytic distillation reactor system. 
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 15 , further comprising feeding at least one of water and a water equivalent to the decomposition reaction zone. 
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 15 , wherein the decomposition catalyst comprises at least one of a heterogeneous decomposition catalyst, a homogeneous decomposition catalyst, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         21 . The process of  claim 15 , further comprising feeding a carbohydrate to the transesterification reaction zone. 
     
     
         22 . The process of  claim 15 , wherein the contacting the methanol and the separating the transesterification product are conducted concurrently in a catalytic distillation reactor system. 
     
     
         23 . The process of  claim 15 , wherein the vegetable oil comprises at least one of canola oil and corn oil. 
     
     
         24 . The process of  claim 15 , wherein the transesterification catalyst comprises at least one of a heterogeneous decomposition catalyst, a homogeneous decomposition catalyst, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         25 . The process of  claim 15 , wherein the etherification catalyst comprises at least one of a heterogeneous decomposition catalyst, a homogeneous decomposition catalyst, and combinations thereof.