Even carbon number paraffin composition and method of manufacturing same
Paraffin compositions including mainly even carbon number paraffins, and a method for manufacturing the same, is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the method involves contacting naturally occurring fatty acid/glycerides with hydrogen in a slurry bubble column reactor containing bimetallic catalysts with equivalent particle diameters from about 10 to about 400 micron. The even carbon number compositions are particularly useful as phase change material.
1. A method comprising:
feeding naturally occurring fatty acids and esters to a reactor containing a gas phase, and a catalyst in a slurry phase, where the catalyst comprises nickel, molybdenum, cobalt, tungsten, or a combination of any two or more thereof, and the catalyst has an equivalent particle diameter of about 10 microns to about 400 microns;
at least partially hydrogenating/hydrogenolyzing the naturally occurring fatty acids and esters in the reactor; and
withdrawing a liquid product stream from the reactor;
wherein
the reactor contains the catalyst in an amount of 1% to 30% based on dry bulk catalyst volume per total slurry volume;
the reactor is controlled to be within 315° C. to 343° C. and within 200 psig to about 2,000 psig; and
the liquid product stream comprises at least 75 wt % even carbon number paraffins selected from the C 12 -C 24 range.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the naturally occurring fatty acids and esters comprise vegetable oils, plant oils, algal oils, animal fats, tall oil fatty acid, or a combination of any two or more thereof.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the naturally occurring fatty acids and esters comprise chicken fat, beef tallow, yellow grease, choice white grease, lard, soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, rapeseed oil, or a combination of any two or more thereof.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein
the naturally occurring fatty acids and esters comprise chicken fat, beef tallow, yellow grease, choice white grease, lard, soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, rapeseed oil, or a combination of any two or more thereof; and
the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-hexadecane and n-octadecane.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein
the naturally occurring fatty acids and esters comprise coconut oil, palm kernel oil, or a combination thereof; and
the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-dodecane and n-tetradecane.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-dodecane, n-tetradecane, n-hexadecane, and n-octadecane.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the liquid product stream comprises at least 80 wt % even carbon number paraffins selected from the C 12 -C 24 range.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein
the naturally occurring fatty acids and esters comprise chicken fat, beef tallow, yellow grease, choice white grease, lard, soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, rapeseed oil, or a combination of any two or more thereof; and
the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-hexadecane and n-octadecane.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein
the naturally occurring fatty acids and esters comprise coconut oil, palm kernel oil, or a combination thereof; and
the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-dodecane and n-tetradecane.
10. The method of claim 7 , wherein the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-dodecane, n-tetradecane, n-hexadecane, and n-octadecane.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst has an equivalent particle diameter of 30 to 80 microns.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst comprises nickel-molybdenum, cobalt-molybdenum, or nickel-tungsten.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the catalyst has an equivalent particle diameter of 30 to 80 microns.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the liquid product stream comprises at least 80 wt % even carbon number paraffins selected from the C 12 -C 24 range.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein
the naturally occurring fatty acids and esters comprise chicken fat, beef tallow, yellow grease, choice white grease, lard, soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, rapeseed oil, or a combination of any two or more thereof; and
the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-hexadecane and n-octadecane.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein
the naturally occurring fatty acids and esters comprise coconut oil, palm kernel oil, or a combination thereof; and
the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-dodecane and n-tetradecane.
17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the even carbon number paraffins comprise n-dodecane, n-tetradecane, n-hexadecane, and n-octadecane.
18. The method of claim 1 , comprising further processing the liquid product stream to recover at least a portion of the even carbon numbered paraffins and produce a phase change material.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the further processing steps comprise distilling the liquid product stream.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein withdrawing a liquid product stream from the reactor comprises filtering a slurry stream from the reactor to remove and recycle the catalyst and part of a liquid from the slurry stream back to the reactor.