Integrated gasification—pyrolysis process

1. A method for producing liquid hydrocarbons from a biomass, the method comprising:

hydropyrolizing the biomass with a gaseous exhaust stream formed from gasification and/or reforming of a carbon-containing moiety (CCM), the gaseous exhaust stream comprising hydrogen (H 2 ) and a material selected from the group consisting of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), water (H 2 O), and combinations thereof;

wherein the hydropyrolizing comprises fast pyrolysis in presence of hydrogen.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the gaseous exhaust stream is used for the hydropyrolizing without separating out the CO, the CO 2 , the H 2 O and the H 2 subsequent to being formed by the gasification and/or reforming.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein pollutants are removed from the CCM prior to the gasification and/or reforming of the CCM.

4. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the gaseous exhaust stream is free of cooling between the gasification and/or reforming of the CCM via a gasifier/reformer and the hydropyrolizing via a biomass hydropyrolysis unit.

5. The method according to claim 1 further comprising cooling and water-gas shift reacting the gaseous exhaust stream to increase concentration of the H 2 in the gaseous exhaust stream, and then successively reheating the gaseous exhaust stream, and feeding the gaseous exhaust stream to a hydropyrolysis reactor.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the CCM comprises a carbon-containing material that forms syngas during the gasification and/or reforming to define the gaseous exhaust stream, the carbon-containing material comprising pet coke, methane, natural gas, naphtha, coal, biomass, municipal waste, or a mixture thereof.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid hydrocarbons comprise chemically bonded carbon and hydrogen atoms, and are in liquid form when in a closed container at a temperature of 20° C. and a pressure of 1 atmosphere.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the liquid hydrocarbons comprise methanol, ethanol, long chain alcohols, alkanes, alkenes, aromatics, substituted aromatics compounds thereof or mixtures thereof.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the biomass comprises carbon, plant material, tree material, aquatic material or a mixture thereof.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the gaseous exhaust stream defines syngas and the hydropyrolizing occurs in a hydropyrolysis reactor, and wherein the biomass and the syngas react in the hydropyrolysis reactor to define fast hydropyrolysis.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein a residence time of the biomass reacting with the syngas in the hydropyrolysis reactor is less than about 1 minute.

12. The method according to claim 10 , wherein a temperature during fast hydropyrolysis is between about 400° C. and about 600° C.

13. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the hydropyrolysis reactor comprises a hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) catalyst facilitating fast hydropyrolysis.

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the hydropyrolysis reactor further comprises sand mixed with the HDO catalyst and a water-gas shift (WGS) catalyst, and wherein the WGS catalyst is mixed with and disposed on the sand.

15. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the hydropyrolizing produces a gas-phase effluent, and the method further comprises sending at least a majority of the gas-phase effluent to a hydrodeoxygenation reactor.

16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the sending of the gas-phase effluent comprises removing char from the gas-phase effluent prior to reception of the gas-phase effluent by the hydrodeoxygenation reactor.

17. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the gasification and/or reforming of the CCM is conducted in the hydropyrolysis reactor providing the syngas in-situ and process heat for fast-hydropyrolysis of the biomass.

18. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the gasification and/or reforming of the CCM occurs in a reformer, and wherein the CCM comprises natural gas (NG) and at least a portion of the gas-phase effluent, the NG being a lesser proportion of the CCM than the gas-phase effluent.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein a portion of the gas-phase effluent is separated into a CO 2 -rich stream and a CO 2 -deficient stream, wherein the CO 2 -rich stream is fed to burners of the reformer, and wherein the CO 2 -deficient stream is sent to the reformer for reforming.

20. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the hydrodeoxygenation reactor comprises a hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) catalyst.

21. The method according to claim 20 wherein the hydrodeoxygenation reactor further comprises a water-gas shift (WGS) catalyst.

22. The method according to claim 21 , wherein the WGS catalyst is disposed within the hydrodeoxygenation reactor such that the gas-phase effluent interfaces with the WGS catalyst prior to interfacing with the HDO catalyst.

23. The method according to claim 21 , wherein the WGS catalyst comprises a linearly decreasing or a sharply decreasing profile within the hydrodeoxygenation reactor.

24. The method according to claim 21 , wherein the WGS catalyst is interspersed with the HDO catalyst.

25. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the HDO catalyst comprises a multifunctional catalyst having both WGS and HDO activity.

26. The method according to claim 20 , wherein a temperature of the gas-phase effluent being fed to the hydrodeoxygenation reactor is adjusted prior to reception of the gas-phase effluent by the hydrodeoxygenation reactor.

27. The method according to claim 26 , wherein a temperature of the hydrodeoxygenation reactor is lower than the temperature of the gas-phase effluent prior to adjustment.

28. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the hydrodeoxygenation reactor comprises a fixed bed reactor.

29. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the hydrodeoxygenation reactor comprises a fluidized bed reactor.

30. The method according to claim 15 , wherein effluent from the hydrodeoxygenation reactor is cooled to a condensed liquid bio-oil that is collected as a product stream.

31. The method according to claim 30 , wherein at least a portion of the syngas is fed to the hydrodeoxygenation reactor.

32. The method according to claim 30 , wherein the gaseous exhaust stream supplies substantially all process heat requirements for the hydropyrolizing.

33. The method according to claim 32 , wherein a heat transfer process involving sand recirculation is not used to supplement the process heat requirements for the hydropyrolizing.

34. The method according to claim 30 , wherein the sending of the gas-phase effluent comprises removing char from the gas-phase effluent, and wherein the method further comprises sending a portion of the char to a combustor to produce heat, thereby supplying process heat for the gasification and/or reforming of the CCM.

35. The method according to claim 30 , wherein the effluent from the hydrodeoxygenation reactor comprises unreacted syngas and non-condensable gases formed during the hydropyrolizing, and wherein the unreacted syngas and non-condensable gases are collected and separated from the bio-oil.

36. The method according to claim 35 wherein at least a portion of the collected unreacted syngas and non-condensable gases is combusted to provide heat for the gasification and/or reforming of the CCM.

37. The method according to claim 35 , wherein at least a portion of the collected unreacted syngas and non-condensable gases is sent to a gas turbine for power production.

38. The method according to claim 30 , wherein a HDO catalyst is used in the hydropyrolysis reactor and/or the hydrodeoxygenation reactor.

39. The method according to claim 30 , wherein the gas-phase effluent comprises unreacted syngas and is sent to the hydrodeoxygenation reactor for use therein.