Abstract
In this work, an integration systems approach connecting an oil refinery and a bio-refinery is proposed. These plants can be connected through various pathways such as on-site power generation, utility systems and syngas production with the feed of refinery residue, bio-oil and other streams. One important pathway that is the focus in this work represents the production of chemicals produced via biomass sources into the petrochemical and transportation industry as valuable products. Focusing on the latter route of integration, the upgrading of Acetone, Butanol and Ethanol produced by sugar fermentation via bacterial species, has been chosen as a pathway to produce valuable products that could be utilised in both the chemical sector and the transportation industry. There is little current literature regarding this upgrading process, making it a relatively novel option of producing valuable products.
The reaction systems studied consist of the self-condensation of the alcohols and cross condensation of alcohols and acetone using active metals supported on basic supports as catalysts at high temperatures and pressure in a batch reactor. Moreover, catalysts syntheses were conducted successfully to verify the proposed integration approach. The results have shown an outstanding performance for the catalysts in terms of conversion and selectivity, having conversions as high as 90%. The catalysts have also proven to yield valuable products with broad market options in the chemical Industry. In conclusion, this route has shown promising results in terms of providing valuable C-2-C-15 products, useful for both the petrochemical industry and the transportation sector while using economically favourable catalysts in comparison with previous studies.