ZEOLITIC CATALYTIC CONVERSION OF ALCOHOLS TO HYDROCARBONS
A method for converting an alcohol to a hydrocarbon, the method comprising contacting said alcohol with a metal-loaded zeolite catalyst at a temperature of at least 100° C. and up to 550° C., wherein said alcohol can be produced by a fermentation process, said metal is a positively-charged metal ion, and said metal-loaded zeolite catalyst is catalytically active for converting said alcohol to said hydrocarbon.
1 . A method for converting an alcohol to a hydrocarbon, the method comprising contacting said alcohol with a metal-loaded zeolite catalyst at a temperature of at least 100° C. and up to 550° C., wherein said alcohol can be produced by a fermentation process, said metal is a positively-charged metal ion, and said metal-loaded zeolite catalyst is catalytically active for converting said alcohol to said hydrocarbon.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said alcohol is comprised of ethanol.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said alcohol is a component of an aqueous solution.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said alcohol is a component of an aqueous solution in a concentration of no more than about 20%.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein said concentration is no more than about 10%.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said alcohol is produced by a fermentation process.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein said alcohol is a component of a fermentation stream when contacted with said metal-loaded zeolite catalyst.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said temperature is at least 200° C. and up to 500° C.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said temperature is at least 350° C. and up to 500° C.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said temperature is at least 350° C. and up to 450° C.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said temperature is at least 375° C. and up to 425° C.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said metal is selected from alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, copper, iron, vanadium, zinc, titanium, cadmium, gallium, indium, and combinations thereof.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said metal is selected from copper, iron, and vanadium.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said zeolite is comprised of a pentasil zeolite.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein said pentasil zeolite is comprised of ZSM5.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said metal-loaded zeolite catalyst is comprised of Cu-ZSM5.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said metal-loaded zeolite catalyst is comprised of V-ZSM5.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said hydrocarbon is a mixture of hydrocarbon compounds, wherein said mixture is useful as a fuel or as a blendstock component of a fuel.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein said mixture of hydrocarbon compounds is comprised of hydrocarbon compounds containing at least four carbon atoms.
20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein said mixture of hydrocarbon compounds substantially corresponds to a petrochemical fraction.
21 . The method of claim 20 , wherein said petrochemical fraction substantially corresponds to a fuel selected from gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and jet propellant.
22 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said method is integrated with a fermentation process, wherein said fermentation process produces said alcohol as a component of a fermentation stream, and said fermentation stream is contacted with said metal-loaded zeolite catalyst.
23 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said method is integrated with a biomass reactor that includes a fermentation process, wherein said fermentation process produces said alcohol as a component of a fermentation stream, and said fermentation stream is contacted with said metal-loaded zeolite catalyst.
24 . The method of claim 20 , wherein said method further comprises distilling said mixture of hydrocarbon compounds to obtain a fraction of said mixture of hydrocarbon compounds.
25 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said alcohol is produced from a biomass source.
26 . The method of claim 25 , wherein said biomass source is comprised of lignocellulosic matter.
27 . The method of claim 6 , wherein said fermentation process produces said alcohol from a biomass source.
28 . The method of claim 27 , wherein said biomass source is comprised of lignocellulosic matter.
29 . The method of claim 1 wherein the alcohol is comprised of n-butanol or isobutanol.
30 . The method of claim 25 , wherein said biomass source is comprised of starch or sugar.
31 . The method of claim 6 , wherein said fermentation process produces said alcohol from a plant-based source of sugars.