Abstract:
Methods for production of ethanol, distiller's corn oil, and enhanced co-products are disclosed. Methods include obtaining a mixture of one or more co-products of an alcohol production process, which may include wet cake, performing hydrolysis of polysaccharides in the mixture to generate fermentable sugars, fermenting the fermentable sugars in the mixture to produce alcohol, distilling the mixture to remove alcohol from the mixture thereby producing alcohol-containing distillate and enhanced whole stillage, removing released oil from the fermented mixture before distillation and/or from the enhanced whole stillage after distillation, and recovering enhanced wet distiller's grains, enhanced thin stillage, and/or enhanced dried distiller's grains. Compositions disclosed herein include enhanced dried distiller's grains having a cmde protein content of at least 45% on a dry weight basis and having a total fat content of less than 10% on a dry weight basis.
Abstract:
The invention relates to a process for recovering methane from a gas stream comprising methane and ethylene, comprising: a sorption step which comprises contacting the gas stream comprising methane and ethylene with a sorption agent which has a lower affinity for methane than for ethylene, wherein the gas stream comprising methane and ethylene also comprises a compound for which the sorption agent has a lower affinity than for methane and ethylene, resulting in sorption of ethylene and methane by the sorption agent and in a gas stream comprising the compound for which the sorption agent has a lower affinity than for methane and ethylene; a first desorption step which comprises desorbing part of the sorbed methane resulting in a gas stream comprising methane in an amount of 1 to 99.9% based on the amount of methane in the gas stream that is subjected to the sorption step; and a second desorption step which comprises desorbing sorbed compounds resulting in a gas stream comprising the desorbed compounds.
Abstract:
The invention relates to a process for recovering methane from a gas stream comprising methane and ethylene, comprising: a sorption step which comprises contacting the gas stream comprising methane and ethylene with a sorption agent which has a lower affinity for methane than for ethylene, resulting in sorption of ethylene and part of the methane by the sorption agent and in a gas stream comprising methane; a rinse step which comprises contacting a gas stream, comprising a compound for which the sorption agent has a higher affinity than for methane, with the sorption agent containing sorbed ethylene and methane, resulting in sorption of the compound for which the sorption agent has a higher affinity than for methane by the sorption agent, in desorption of methane from the sorption agent and in a gas stream comprising methane; and a desorption step which comprises desorbing sorbed ethylene and the sorbed compound for which the sorption agent has a higher affinity than for methane resulting in a gas stream comprising ethylene and the compound for which the sorption agent has a higher affinity than for methane.
Abstract:
The present invention relates to a process for processing a gas mixture comprising methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, nitrogen, argon and traces of olefins and oxygenates. Methane, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, and optionally hydrogen, can be recovered from the gas mixture in a very efficient way.
Abstract:
The invention provides a process for the preparation of an olefinic product, the process comprising the steps of: (a) reacting an oxygenate feedstock, comprising oxygenate, in an oxygenate reaction zone in the presence of a catalyst comprising a molecular sieve, at a temperature in the range of from 350 to 1000° C., to produce a reaction effluent stream, comprising at least oxygenate, olefin, water and acidic by-products; (b) cooling the reaction effluent stream by means of an indirect heat exchange to provide a cooled reaction effluent stream at a temperature greater than the dew point temperature of reaction effluent stream; (c) passing the cooled reaction effluent stream into a quench tower and contacting the cooled reaction effluent stream with a first aqueous liquid in the presence of at least one set of quench tower internals, to produce a quench tower gaseous stream comprising the olefinic product and a quench tower liquid stream comprising condensed material; and (d) separating the quench tower liquid stream into a hydrocarbon quench tower liquid stream and an aqueous quench tower liquid stream in the presence of one or more coalescers.
Abstract:
A method for converting oxygenates to olefins comprising: a) feeding an oxygenate containing stream to a reactor; b) contacting the oxygenate containing stream with a molecular sieve catalyst under oxygenate-to-olefin conversion conditions to form products wherein the catalyst becomes deactivated due to the formation of coke on the catalyst; c) removing the products from the reactor; d) removing at least a portion of the catalyst from the reactor and sending the catalyst to a catalyst regenerator; e) contacting the catalyst with a regeneration medium and a fuel to combust at least a portion of the coke and to heat the catalyst; and f) returning at least a portion of the heated catalyst to the reactor wherein the fuel is a light hydrocarbon gas that has been at least partially diluted with nitrogen and/or air.
Abstract:
The current invention provides a process for extracting C4+ olefins from a stream comprising C4+ olefins and C4+ paraffins, wherein an oxygenate, preferably methanol (MeOH) is used as extractant, and wherein the resulting extract phase comprising C4+ olefins and extractant is converted into olefins. Also provided is a process for converting oxygenates to olefins, wherein the oxygenate preferably comprises MeOH, wherein the oxygenate is used as extractant and wherein an extract phase comprising C4+ olefins and the extractant are converted into olefins.
Abstract:
The invention provides a process for preparing olefins, comprising: (a) reacting an oxygenate and/or olefinic feed in a first reactor in the presence of a molecular sieve catalyst to form a first effluent comprising olefins; (b) fractionating at least part of the first effluent into an olefinic product fraction comprising ethylene and propylene and an olefinic product fraction comprising olefins containing 4 or more carbon atoms; (c) subjecting a paraffin-containing hydrocarbon feedstock in a second reactor to a steam cracking process to form a second effluent comprising olefins including butadiene; (d) fractionating the second effluent into an olefinic product fraction comprising ethylene and/or propylene and an olefinic product fraction comprising mono-olefins containing 4 or more carbon atoms; and (e) recycling the olefinic product fraction comprising at least part of the ethylene and/or propylene as obtained in step (d) to the reactor in step (a).
Abstract:
A process for converting oxygenates to olefins comprising: a) providing an oxygenate containing stream to an oxygenate to olefins conversion reactor; b) passing the oxygenate containing stream through a feed introduction system comprising one or more nozzles and one or more corresponding caps; c) contacting the oxygenate containing stream with a molecular sieve catalyst in the oxygenate to olefins conversion reactor to form an olefin containing product stream; and d) removing the product stream from the reactor.
Abstract:
A process for converting oxygenates to olefms comprising: a) contacting an oxygenate containing stream with a molecular sieve catalyst under oxygenate to olefms conversion conditions in a reactor to form an effluent comprising olefms; b) separating C3-hydrocarbons from C4+ hydrocarbons in the effluent; c) separating C1 hydrocarbons and other light gases from C2+ hydrocarbons; d) separating C2 hydrocarbons from the C3 hydrocarbons; e) sending the C3 hydrocarbons to a C3 splitter to separate pro pylene from propane; f) removing propylene from the C3 splitter; and g) removing propane from the C3 splitter.