Low water biomass-derived pyrolysis oils and processes for producing the same

1. A process for lowering water in a biomass-derived pyrolysis oil, comprising:

i) condensing pyrolysis gases to separate condensable pyrolysis gases from water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases;

ii) drying the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases to reduce the water content of the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases to form reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases;

iii) providing the reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases to a pyrolysis reactor;

iv) pyrolyzinq a biomass material in the pyrolysis reactor with the reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases to form reduced-water pyrolysis gases; and

v) condensing at least a portion of the reduced-water pyrolysis gases to form a low-water biomass-derived pyrolysis oil.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the drying comprises passing the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases over a chiller.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the drying comprises passing the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases through an adsorptive dryer.

4. The process of claim 3 , wherein the adsorptive dryer comprises a molecular sieve.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the condensing pyrolysis gases further comprises:

i) introducing the pyrolysis gases into a condenser; and

ii) adjusting the condenser to a predetermined temperature to provide a threshold vapor pressure of water in the condenser to provide a predetermined maximum water content included in the low-water biomass-derived pyrolysis oil.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises heating the reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein the process further comprises filtering the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gas to reduce a mist load of said water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gas.

8. A process for preparing low-water biomass-derived pyrolysis oil, comprising:

i) introducing pyrolysis gases into a condenser, wherein the pyrolysis gases comprise condensable pyrolysis gases and water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases;

ii) adjusting the condenser to a predetermined temperature to provide a threshold vapor pressure of water in the condenser to thereby provide a maximum water content included in the low-water biomass-derived pyrolysis oil;

iii) condensing the pyrolysis gases in the condenser to separate the condensable pyrolysis gases from the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases;

iv) drying the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases to reduce the water content of water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases to form reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases;

v) providing the reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases to a pyrolysis reactor;

vi) pyrolyzing a biomass material in the pyrolysis reactor with the reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases to form reduced-water pyrolysis gases; and

vii) condensing at least a portion of the reduced-water pyrolysis gases to form the low-water biomass-derived pyrolysis oil.

9. The process of claim 8 , wherein the drying reduces the water content of the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases by at least 50%.

10. The process of claim 8 , wherein the drying reduces the water content of the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases by at least 90%.

11. The process of claim 8 , wherein the process further comprises:

i) drying a biomass material to form a dried biomass material;

ii) pyrolyzing the dried biomass material in the pyrolysis reactor with the reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases to form reduced-water pyrolysis gases; and

iii) condensing the reduced-water pyrolysis gases to form the low-water biomass-derived pyrolysis oil.

12. The process of claim 11 , wherein the step of pyrolyzing comprises pyrolyzing the biomass material by using a rapid pyrolysis process.

13. A process for preparing low-water biomass-derived pyrolysis oil, comprising:

i) condensing pyrolysis gases to separate condensable pyrolysis gases from water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases;

ii) drying the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases to reduce the water content of the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases to form reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases;

iii) providing the reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases to a pyrolysis reactor;

iv) pyrolyzing a biomass material in the pyrolysis reactor with the reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases to form reduced-water pyrolysis gases; and

v) condensing at least a portion of the reduced-water pyrolysis gases to form the low-water biomass-derived pyrolysis oil, the low-water biomass-derived pyrolysis oil having a water content in a range of about 2% to about 30%.

14. The process of claim 13 , wherein the process further comprises drying the biomass material to form a dried biomass material, before the step of pyrolyzing.

15. The process of claim 13 , wherein the reduced-water non-condensable pyrolysis gases are heated before being provided to the dryer.

16. The process of claim 13 , wherein the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases are filtered to reduce a mist load of the water-containing non-condensable pyrolysis gases, after being condensed and before drying.