Integrated methods for chemical synthesis

Abstract

The integrated processes herein provide improved carbon efficiency for processes based on coal or biomass gasification or steam methane reforming. Provided are also ethylene oxide carbonylation products such as beta-propiolactone and succinic anhydride having a bio-based content between 0% and 100%, and methods for producing and analyzing the same.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 116,109, filed Feb. 13, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD[0002]The present disclosure relates generally to the integrated production of chemicals, and more specifically to integrated processes that provide improved carbon efficiency for processes based on coal or biomass gasification or steam methane reforming. The present disclosure also relates to ethylene oxide carbonylation products, such as beta-propiolactone and succinic anhydride having a bio-based content, and methods for producing and analyzing thereof.BACKGROUND[0003]Interest in finding sustainable methods to produce energy and chemicals continues to increase in the face of concerns that anthropogenic carbon emissions are responsible for global climate change. Among the options being considered is the use of biomass to feed chemical production via gasification. This...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The methods and systems in this patent address the challenge of efficiently producing bio-based chemicals from coal or biomass. By using syngas streams containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and varying amounts of carbon dioxide, epoxide carbonylation can selectively produce valuable chemical precursors. This is economically and environmentally preferable to releasing excess carbon dioxide as CO2. The integrated processes provide improved carbon efficiency for processes based on coal or biomass gasification or steam methane reforming.

Problems solved by technology

However, a drawback to gasification technology is that it is relatively inefficient in terms of the percentage of the carbon input to the gasifier that is actually incorporated into end products.

The resulting CO2 (22 kg CO2 per kg of H2 produced) is emitted to the atmosphere and erodes the carbon efficiency and environmental benefit of biomass gasification technologies.

Furthermore, existing methods used to produce bio-based BPL and SA at scale rely on the availability of bio-based supplies of C3 feedstocks such as propene, which are not economically competitive with fossil sources.

It is also a challenge to determine which feedstocks were used to produce a given batch of beta-propiolactone or succinic anhydride, as once the chemicals are produced, any sample of BPL or SA is largely indistinguishable.

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