Process for converting a solid biomass material

Abstract

A process for converting a solid biomass material is provided. The solid biomass material and a fluid hydrocarbon feed is contacted with a catalytic cracking catalyst at a temperature of more than 400° C. in a catalytic cracking reactor to produce one or more cracked products which are then fractionated to produce one or more product fractions; then hydrodeoxygenated to produce one or more hydrodeoxygenated products.

1 . A process for converting a solid biomass material comprising
 a) contacting the solid biomass material and a fluid hydrocarbon feed with a catalytic cracking catalyst at a temperature of more than 400° C. in a catalytic cracking reactor to produce at least one cracked product;   b) fractionating said cracked product produced in step a) to produce at least one product fraction;   c) hydrodeoxygenating said fractions produced in step b) to produce at least one hydrodeoxygenated product.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the solid biomass material is selected from the group consisting of wood, sawdust, straw, grass, bagasse, corn stover and/or mixtures thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the solid biomass material in step a) is a torrefied solid biomass material. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the solid biomass material in step a) has a mean particle size in the range from equal to or more than 5 micrometer to equal to or less than 5000 micrometer, as measured with a laser scattering particle size distribution analyzer. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the solid biomass material in step a) is produced by reducing the particle size of the solid biomass material in the presence of a liquid hydrocarbon. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 5  wherein the liquid hydrocarbon is the same as the fluid hydrocarbon co-feed in step (a). 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the fluid hydrocarbon co-feed is selected from the group consisting of straight run gas oils, flashed distillate, vacuum gas oils, coker gas oils, atmospheric residue (long residue), vacuum residue (short residue), naphtha, gasoline, diesel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gases. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the fluid hydrocarbon co-feed comprises equal to or more than 8 wt % elemental hydrogen, based on the total weight of fluid hydrocarbon co-feed on a water-free basis. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the fluid hydrocarbon co-feed and the solid biomass material are mixed together prior to entry into a catalytic cracking reactor. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the fluid hydrocarbon co-feed and the solid biomass material are added separately to a catalytic cracking reactor. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the cracked product produced in step a) contain equal to or more than 0.01 wt % elemental oxygen based on the total weight of the cracked product on a water-free basis. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the product fraction procured in step b) contain equal to or more than 0.01 wt % elemental oxygen, based on the total weight of the product fraction on a water-free basis. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 1  wherein the product fraction produced in step b) and hydrodeoxygenated in step c) consist of a fraction of the cracked product, of which fraction at least 70 wt % boiling in the range from equal to or more than 30° C. to less than 370° C. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 13  where the product fraction consist of a fraction of the cracked product, of which fraction at least 80 wt % boiling in the range from equal to or more than 30° C. to less than 370° C. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 13  where the product fraction consist of a fraction of the cracked product, of which fraction at least 90 wt % boiling in the range from equal to or more than 30° C. to less than 370° C. 
     
     
         16 . A process for preparing a biofuel and/or biochemical comprising blending at least one hydrodeoxygenated product produced by the process of  claim 1  with one or more other components to produce a biofuel and/or biochemical.