Methods for sulfate removal in liquid-phase catalytic hydrothermal gasification of biomass

1. A hydrothermal process for treating a wet biomass feedstock comprising biomass, inorganic contaminants, soluble sulfate contaminants, and sub-critical liquid water, the process operated at temperatures and pressures that maintain the wet biomass feedstock in liquid phase without forming a supercritical fluid and characterized by:

heating under pressure the wet biomass feedstock to a pre-treatment temperature sufficient for organic constituents in the feedstock to decompose, for precipitates of inorganic wastes to form, and for preheating the wet feedstock in preparation for removal of the soluble sulfate contaminants;

reacting the soluble sulfate contaminants with cations present in the feedstock to yield a sulfate-containing precipitate; and

separating the precipitates of inorganic wastes and the sulfate-containing precipitates out the wet biomass feedstock to yield a liquid of the wet biomass feedstock having a decreased sulfate content.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the biomass comprises the cations.

3. The process of claim 1 , further comprising sadding cations to the feedstock as a salt.

4. The process of claim 3 , wherein the salt comprises a compound selected from the group consisting of calcium oxide, calcium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, and combinations thereof.

5. The process of claim 3 , wherein the salt is substantially soluble at temperatures below the pre-treatment temperature.

6. The process of claim 5 , wherein the salt comprises calcium ascorbate.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein the cation is calcium.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the cation is barium.

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein the decreased sulfate content is less than 20 ppm.

10. The process of claim 1 , wherein the pre-treatment temperature is at least 300° C.

11. The process of claim 1 , wherein the wet biomass feedstock further comprises soluble, reduced sulfur contaminants and wherein the process further comprises capturing the soluble, reduced sulfur contaminants in an adsorbent bed by reaction with a metal or a metal oxide.

12. The process of claim 1 , wherein the wet biomass feedstock is selected from the group consisting of high-moisture biomass slurries, biosludge from wastewater treatment systems, sewage sludge from municipal treatment systems, wet byproducts from biorefinery operations, wet byproducts/residues from food processing, animal waste and waste from centralized animal raising facilities, organic chemical manufacturing wastewater streams, industrial wastewater contaminated with organics, and combinations thereof.

13. The process of claim 1 , further comprising exposing the liquid of the wet biomass feedstock to a heterogeneous metal catalyst and gasifying at least a portion of the organic constituents after said separating, wherein the heterogeneous metal catalyst comprises Ru, Ni or Ni with Na added.

14. The process of claim 1 , further comprising exposing the liquid of the wet biomass feedstock to a heterogeneous metal catalyst and gasifying at least a portion of the organic constituents after said separating, wherein the heterogeneous catalyst comprises Ru on a carbon support.

15. The process of claim 1 , further comprising exposing the liquid of the wet biomass feedstock to a heterogeneous metal catalyst and gasifying at least a portion of the organic constituents after said separating, wherein the exposing the wet biomass feedstock to a heterogeneous catalyst comprises processing the wet feedstock in a catalytic reactor at temperatures ranging from 250° C. to below the critical temperature of water.

16. The process of claim 1 , further comprising exposing the liquid of the wet biomass feedstock to a heterogeneous metal catalyst and gasifying at least a portion of the organic constituents after said separating, wherein the exposing the wet biomass feedstock in a catalytic reactor at pressures below the critical pressure of water.

17. The process of claim 1 , further comprising exposing the liquid of the wet biomass feedstock to a heterogeneous metal catalyst and gasifying at least a portion of the organic constituents after said separating, wherein the exposing occurs at 340-360° C. and 18-21 MPa.

18. The process of claim 1 , further comprising exposing the liquid of the wet biomass feedstock to a heterogeneous metal catalyst and gasifying at least a portion of the organic constituents after said separating, wherein said gasification of the organic constituents yields a methane-containing feedstock for catalytic reformation.

19. A hydrothermal process for treating a wet biomass feedstock comprising biomass, inorganic contaminants, soluble sulfate contaminants, and sub-critical liquid water, the process operated at temperatures and pressures that maintain the wet biomass feedstock in liquid phase without forming a supercritical fluid and characterized by:

adding a salt comprising a calcium cation to the feedstock;

heating under pressure the wet biomass feedstock to a pre-treatment temperature, which is at least 300° C. and sufficient for organic constituents in the feedstock to decompose, for precipitates of inorganic wastes to form, and for preheating the wet feedstock in preparation for removal of the soluble sulfate contaminants;

reacting the soluble sulfate contaminants with calcium cations from the salt to yield a sulfate-containing precipitate; and

separating the precipitates of inorganic wastes and the sulfate-containing precipitates out the wet biomass feedstock to yield a liquid of the wet biomass feedstock having a decreased sulfate content.

20. The process of claim 19 , wherein the salt is substantially soluble at temperatures below the pre-treatment temperature.