Impurity removal from lipid feedstock

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for pretreating a lipid feedstock, the method comprising: providing the lipid feedstock; pretreating the lipid feedstock in one or more pretreatment step(s) to reduce at least one impurity in the lipid feedstock, the at least one impurity selected from impurities comprising phosphorus (P) and, optionally, impurities comprising at least one metal and to obtain a pretreated lipid feedstock; whereby the thus obtained pretreated lipid feedstock has a reduced quantity of impurities, when compared to the lipid feedstock; subjecting the pretreated lipid feedstock to a polishing purification by passing the pretreated lipid feedstock through an arrangement comprising a selective body having an ion exchange functionality for capturing phosphorus and, optionally, metal ions and comprising impermeable walls and flow channel(s) allowing through flow of the pretreated lipid feedstock to reduce impurities in the pretreated lipid feedstock, and to obtain a polished lipid feedstock having a reduced quantity of impurities, when compared to the pretreated lipid feedstock.

Description

[0001] IMPURITY REMOVAL FROM LIPID FEEDSTOCK

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present invention relates to treating lipid feedstocks, in particular those containing phosphorus and metal impurities in high levels. Specifically the present invention relates to treating lipid feedstocks to allow production of renewable hydrocarbon products therefrom through impurity removal and subsequent hydroprocessing, such as catalytic hydroprocessing.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] It is a well-known fact that lipid materials for renewable hydrocarbon production, such as oils and fats, can contain impurities that need to be removed before catalytic processing as they are detrimental to the quality of the final product, and may cause e.g. deactivation of the used catalyst. High and especially suddenly changing content of phosphorus and metals in the lipid feedstocks (such as in fresh and used vegetable oils and animal fats) makes the production of the renewable fuels and / or chemicals using a heterogeneous catalyst unprofitable due to fast deactivation of a catalyst and / or plugging of a catalyst bed.

[0006] Pretreatment methods currently used for lipid feedstocks to be used in hydrogenation processes are not able to remove the last traces of soluble impurities. The last traces can be very difficult or impossible to remove with the pretreatment generally used, and an increase in chemicals or adsorbents is generally insufficient to remove the impurities completely. Also a lot of waste is generated in the form of e.g. spent adsorbent cake, gums, and / or waste water.

[0007] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An objective of the present invention is thus to provide a method so as to overcome the above problems. The objectives of the invention are achieved by a method which is characterized by what is stated in the independent claims. The preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.The invention is based on the surprising realization that additional polishing purification step after the main pretreatment stage performed with a particular arrangement lowers phosphorus and optionally also metals levels in the lipid feedstock. The lower average content of phosphorus and / or metals increases the lifetime of the heterogeneous catalyst due to its decreased deactivation and / or the slower plugging of the catalyst bed. The present method further allows efficient production of renewable hydrocarbons from said lipid feedstocks.

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] The present invention provides a method for pretreating a lipid feedstock, the method comprising:

[0011] i) providing the lipid feedstock;

[0012] ii) pretreating the lipid feedstock in one or more pretreatment step(s) to reduce at least one impurity in the lipid feedstock , the at least one impurity selected from impurities comprising phosphorus (P) and, optionally, impurities comprising at least one metal, to obtain a pretreated lipid feedstock,

[0013] whereby the thus obtained pretreated lipid feedstock has a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising phosphorus (P), and, optionally, a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising metal, when compared to the lipid feedstock;

[0014] iii) subjecting the pretreated lipid feedstock to a polishing purification by passing the pretreated lipid feedstock through an arrangement comprising a selective body having an ion exchange functionality for capturing phosphorus and, optionally, metal ions, and comprising impermeable walls and flow channel(s) allowing through flow of the pretreated lipid feedstock to reduce at least one impurity in the pretreated lipid feedstock, the at least one impurity selected from impurities comprising phosphorus (P) and, optionally, impurities comprising at least one metal and to obtain a polished lipid feedstock having a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising phosphorus (P), and optionally a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising metal, when compared to the pretreated lipid feedstock.The present invention further provides a process for providing at least one renewable hydrocarbon product comprising x) pretreating a lipid feedstock as defined herein to obtain a polished lipid feedstock; and y) subjecting the polished lipid feedstock to hydroprocessing, such as catalytic hydroprocessing, in particular hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), hydroisomerization (HI), and / or hydrocracking (HC), to obtain at least one renewable hydrocarbon product.

[0015] In the present description, weight percentages (wt%) are calculated based on the total weight of the material in question (typically a blend or a mixture). Any amounts defined as ppm (parts per million), are based on weight (i.e. mg / kg).

[0016] The term “renewable" in the context of renewable feed, renewable feedstock or renewable fuel or fuel component refers to one or more organic compounds derived from any renewable source (contrary to source of fossil origin). Thus renewable compounds or compositions are obtainable, obtained, derivable, derived, or originating from plants, animals and / or microbes, including compounds or compositions obtainable, obtained, derivable, derived, or originating from fungi and / or algae, in full or in part, whether these compounds or compositions are in their virgin, recycled or reclaimed form. As used herein, renewable compounds or compositions may comprise gene manipulated compounds or compositions. Lipid feedstock discussed herein may also be referred to as renewable feedstocks, further renewable feedstocks, components, compounds, or compositions may also be referred to as biological feedstocks, components, compounds, or compositions, or as biogenic feedstocks, components, compounds, or compositions. As used herein, the term “fossil” refers to compounds or compositions that are obtainable, obtained, derivable, derived, or originating from naturally occurring non-renewable compositions, such as crude oil, petroleum oil / gas, shale oil / gas, natural gas, or coal deposits, and the like, and combinations thereof, including any hydrocarbon rich deposits that can be utilized from ground and / or underground sources. Thus, the renewable hydrocarbon is based on renewable sources and consequently does not originate from or is not derived from any fossil based material.

[0017] The 14C-isotope content can be used as evidence of the renewable or biological origin of a feedstock or product. Carbon atoms of renewable material comprise a higher number of unstable radiocarbon (14C) atoms compared to carbon atoms of fossil origin. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish between carbon compounds derived from biological sources, andcarbon compounds derived from fossil sources by analyzing the ratio of 12C and 14C isotopes. Thus, a particular ratio of said isotopes can be used to identify and quantify renewable carbon compounds and differentiate those from non-renewable i.e. fossil carbon compounds. The isotope ratio does not change in the course of chemical reactions. An example of a suitable method for analyzing the content of carbon from biological sources is ASTM D6866 (2020). An example of how to apply ASTM D6866 to determine the renewable content in fuels is provided in the article of Dijs et al., Radiocarbon, 48(3), 2006, pp 315-323. For the purpose of the present invention, a renewable material, such as a feedstock or product, is considered to be of renewable origin if it contains 90 % or more modern carbon (pMC), such as about 100 % modem carbon, as measured using ASTM D6866.

[0018] As used herein, “hydrocarbons” refer to compounds consisting of carbon and hydrogen. Examples of hydrocarbons include paraffins, including n-paraffins and i-paraffins, naphthenes, aromatics, and olefins (alkenes). “Oxygenated hydrocarbons” refer herein to hydrocarbons comprising covalently bound oxygen. Examples of oxygenated hydrocarbons include tri-, di-, and monoglycerides, fatty acids and alkyl-esters of fatty acids (e.g. methyl-or ethyl-ester of fatty acids).

[0019] As used herein, “paraffins” refer to non-cyclic alkanes, i.e., non-cyclic, open chain saturated hydrocarbons that are linear (normal paraffins, n-paraffins) or branched (isoparaffins, i-paraffms). In other words, paraffins refer herein to n-paraffins and / or i-paraffins.

[0020] In the context of the present disclosure, “olefins” refer to unsaturated, linear, branched, or cyclic hydrocarbons, excluding aromatic compounds. In other words, olefins refer to hydrocarbons having at least one unsaturated bond, excluding unsaturated bonds in aromatic rings.

[0021] “Naphthenes” refer herein to cycloalkanes or cycloalkenes containing at least one cyclic structure, with or without side chains, including also compounds having one or more olefinic bonds in the cyclic structure and / or in a side chain, but excluding compounds with any aromatic ring structure(s).“Aromatics” refers herein to hydrocarbons containing at least one aromatic ring structure, i.e. cyclic structure having delocalized, pi bonds satisfying the Hiickel (4n + 2) rule.

[0022] The term “fuel” refers to both fuels usable as such and / or as fuel components, which fulfill the requirements of standards for the respective use. For example, within the EU, the standard for gasoline is EN 228 (2017), for paraffinic diesel EN 15940 (2019), and for aviation turbine fuel containing synthesized hydrocarbons D7566 (2020).

[0023] Lipid feedstock

[0024] The term “lipid feedstock” refers to lipid material which is intended to be converted by catalytic hydroprocessing into renewable hydrocarbons or other valuable renewable products, including fuels, but which comprises impurity concentration that is too high for the lipid feedstock to be fed to the hydroprocessing processes as such. Lipid feedstock contemplated herein typically comprises at least 5 mg / kg, such as from 5 to 5000 mg / kg, phosphorus impurities, and at least 10 mg / kg, such as from 10 to 10000 mg / kg, metal impurities, measured as elemental phosphorus and elemental metal(s). Preferably the lipid feedstock contemplated herein comprises at least 15 mg / kg, such as 15 to 2000 mg / kg, phosphorus impurities, and at least 20 mg / kg, such as 20 to 3000 mg / kg, metal impurities, measured as elemental phosphorus and elemental metal(s). The lipid feedstock typically comprises free fatty acids (FFA), esters of fatty acids, triglycerides, or combinations thereof.

[0025] Phosphorus impurities may be present in the lipid feedstock in various chemical forms in varying phosphorus containing compounds, such as in the form of phospholipids, oil or water soluble or insoluble phosphorus compounds, or inorganic phosphates, diphosphates, and phosphites. Typical phosphorus containing compounds may further comprise glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, phosphatidic acid complexes, phosphatidylethanolamines, nucleoside phosphates, apatite or bone meal (calcium phosphate), and the like.

[0026] Metal impurities may similarly be present in the lipid feedstock in various chemical forms in varying metal continuing compounds, inorganic or organic, in water soluble, oil soluble, or insoluble forms.

[0027] The present method may be used to purify any lipid feedstock, such as plant oils, plant fats, animal fats, animal oils, fish fats, fish oils, waste fats, waste oils, residue fats, residue oils, afatty acid distillate, acidulated soapstock, mold oils, rapeseed oil, canola oil, colza oil, babassu oil, carinata oil, pongamia oil, coconut butter, muscat butter oil, sesame oil, maize oil, poppy seed oil, cottonseed oil, soy oil, laurel seed oil, jatropha oil, palm kernel oil, camelina oil, tall oil, fraction of tall oil, crude tall oil, tall oil pitch, sunflower oil, corn oil, technical / distillers corn oil, soybean oil, hemp seed oil, olive oil, linseed oil, cottonseed oil, mustard oil, mustard seed oil, peanut oil, castor oil, coconut oil, palm oil, crude palm oil, palm seed oil, palm fatty acid distillate, a sludge originating from plant oil production, palm oil mill effluent, arachis oil, castor oil, coconut oil, archaeal oil, bacterial oil, fungal oil, protozoal oil, algal oil, seaweed oil, oils from halophiles, poultry fat, dry rendered poultry fat, brown grease, used cooking oil, suet, lard, tallow, blubber, recycled alimentary fats, acid oil, train oil, spent bleaching earth oil, lignocellulosic based feeds, materials produced by genetic engineering, and biological materials produced by microbes, or any combinations or mixtures thereof. The present method is particularly suitable for lipid materials containing high amounts of phosphorus, metals.

[0028] The lipid feedstock may be in unprocessed form (e.g. animal fat) or in processed form (e.g. used cooking oil).

[0029] Typical lipid feedstocks comprise waste and recycle oils, typically combinations thereof. Such lipid materials typically initially contain high amounts of phosphorus impurities, typically as phosphorus containing compounds, and metal impurities, typically as metal containing compounds. Typical metal impurities include Na, K, Ca and Mg. The metal impurities are usually measured in w-ppm (corresponding to mg / kg) of the metal measured as the elemental metal, which can be done using a variety of techniques, including ICP-MS. Too high metal and phosphorus impurity levels are not desirable during hydroprocessing and the level is sought to be reduced to avoid catalyst bed plugging and catalyst deactivation.

[0030] Examples of lipid materials benefitting from the present purification method include soapstock acid oil (SAO), low quality animal fat (LQAF) grades such as choice white grease (CWG) and poultry fat (APF), brown grease (BG), used cooking oil (UCO), and palm oil mill effluent (POME), crude tall oil (CTO), and tall oil pitch (TOP), as well as mixtures thereof.In an embodiment, the lipid feedstock comprises soapstock acid oil (SAO), low quality animal fat (LQAF), choice white grease (CWG), poultry fat (APF), brown grease (BG), used cooking oil (UCO), palm oil mill effluent (POME), or any combinations thereof.

[0031] Soapstock acid oil (SAO) is a by-product from the vegetable oil refining industry obtained by acidification of soapstock. Typically SAO comprises high amounts of phosphorus and metal impurities, such as at least 30 mg / kg, e.g. 50 to 700 mg / kg, phosphorus, at least 10 mg / kg, e.g. 10 to 3000 mg / kg, metals, and at least 0.1 wt%, e.g. 0.1 to 3 wt%, solid impurities.

[0032] Low quality animal fat (LQAF) is typically inedible lipids derived from animals. Typically LQAF comprises high amounts of phosphorus and metal impurities, such as at least 50 mg / kg, e.g. 100 to 700 mg / kg, phosphorus, at least 50 mg / kg, e.g. 50 to 1200 mg / kg, metals, and at least 0.01 wt%, e.g. 0.01 to 2.0 wt%, solid impurities.

[0033] An example of LQAF, choice white grease (CWG) is an inedible low quality animal fat obtained from the rendering process of swine in the North American feedstock market. Typically CWG comprises high amounts of phosphorus and metal impurities, such as at least 300 mg / kg, e.g. 300 to 700 mg / kg, phosphorus, at least 600 mg / kg, e.g. 600 to 1200 mg / kg, metals, and at least 0.4 wt%, e.g. 0.4 to 2.0 wt%, solid impurities.

[0034] A further example of LQAF, poultry fat (AFP) is fat obtained from poultry rendering and processing. Typically AFP comprises high amounts of phosphorus and metal impurities, such as at least 50 mg / kg, e.g. 100 to 700 mg / kg, phosphorus, at least 10 mg / kg, e.g. 50 to 500 mg / kg, metals, and at least 0.01 wt%, e.g. 0.1 to 1.0 wt%, solid impurities.

[0035] Used cooking oil (UCO) is oils and fats that have been used for cooking or frying. Typically UCO comprises high amounts of phosphorus and metal impurities, such as at least 2 mg / kg, e.g. 5 to 300 mg / kg, phosphorus, at least 10 mg / kg, e.g. 20 to 2000 mg / kg, metals, and at least 0.01 wt%, e.g. 0.01 to 1.0 wt%, solid impurities.

[0036] Brown Grease (BG) is intended to mean any emulsion of fat, oil, grease, solids, and water separated from wastewater in a grease interceptor (grease trap) and collected for use as a fuel feedstock. Typically BG comprises high amounts of phosphorus and metal impurities, suchas at least 5 mg / kg, e.g. 15 to 300 mg / kg, phosphorus, at least 20 mg / kg, e.g. 200 to 3000 mg / kg, metals, and at least 0.1 wt%, e.g. 0.1 to 3 wt%, solid impurities.

[0037] Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is oil waste separated from wastewaters generated in palm oil milling. Typically POME comprises high amounts of phosphorus and metal impurities, such as at least 5 mg / kg, e.g. 5 to 150 mg / kg, phosphorus, at least 10 mg / kg, e.g. 10 to 4000 mg / kg, metals, and at least 0.01 wt%, e.g. 0.1 to 2.0 wt%, solid impurities.

[0038] Crude tall oil (CTO) is an oil composition comprising fatty acids, rosin acids and other neutral materials obtained from the wood pulping industry. Typically CTO comprises high amounts of phosphorous and metal impurities, such as at least 5 mg / kg, e.g. 10 to 120 mg / kg, phosphorus, at least 50 mg / kg, e.g. 100 to 6000 mg / kg, metals, and at least 0.01 wt%, e.g.

[0039] 0.1 to 1 wt% solid impurities.

[0040] Tall oil pitch (TOP) is a nonvolatile residue in the fractional distillation process of crude tall oil. Typically TOP comprises high amounts of phosphorous and metal impurities, such as at least 10 mg / kg, e.g. 10 to 150 mg / kg, phosphorus, at least 100 mg / kg, e.g. 100 to 2000 mg / kg, metals, and at least 0.01 wt%, e.g. 0.1 to 1 wt% solid impurities.

[0041] The amount of phosphorus and metal impurities may be determined e.g. according to ASTM D5185-18 standard test method or as described herein in the experimental part, preferably as described herein.

[0042] Pretreating the Lipid Feedstock, Step ii)

[0043] In step ii) the lipid feedstock is subjected one or more pretreatment step(s) to reduce at least one impurity in the lipid feedstock, the at least one impurity selected from impurities comprising phosphorus (P) and, optionally, impurities comprising at least one metal to obtain a pretreated lipid feedstock.

[0044] The term “pretreating” refers to one or more individual pretreatment actions or reactions for removal of at least one impurity. At least one of these pretreatment actions or reactions must lead to reduction at least one impurity in the lipid feedstock, the at least one impurity selected from impurities comprising phosphorus (P) and, optionally, impurities comprising at leastone metal to obtain a pretreated lipid feedstock. If the pretreatment process comprises more than one pretreatment actions / reactions, the separate pretreatment actions / reactions may be the same or different ones. Thus, the pretreatment can be a pretreatment sequence. In general pretreatment refers to processing of feedstock for removal of harmful material before directing the feedstock to post-processing, such as catalytic hydrotreatment.

[0045] The one or more pretreatment step(s) may be selected from heat-treating (HT), heat-treating with adsorbent (HTA), treating with acid and / or adsorbent, degumming, bleaching, deodorization, removal of solids, removal of volatiles, water washing, distillation, extraction, blending, and any combination thereof.

[0046] Preferably the pretreating comprises at least ii-a) heat-treating the lipid feedstock, preferably in the presence of water, at a heat treatment temperature of at least 150 °C, such as from 150 to 400 °C, and optionally, under a pressure from 100 to 6500 kPa(a) and / or for a residence time from 1 to 300 minutes, to obtain a heat-treated lipid feedstock, and / or ii-b) treating the (heat-treated) lipid feedstock with an acid and / or adsorbent material, preferably under bleaching conditions, to obtain a treated lipid feedstock. The thus obtained heat-treated lipid feedstock or treated lipid feedstock, respectively, may then be subjected to one or more further pretreatment steps or subjected directly to the next step as such as the pretreated lipid feedstock.

[0047] Prior to pretreating or as part of the pretreating step ii), the lipid feedstock may be subjected to removing solid impurities from the lipid feedstock. Solid impurities removed in this phase include e.g. salts, protein residues, bone meal, fibers, carbohydrates, and / or sand. While the removal of solid impurities may be accomplished by any phase separation method suitable for removing solid impurities from lipid materials, including, but not limited to, settling, centrifuging, filtering, and any combination of those, preferably centrifuging and / or filtering, such as by filtering the lipid feedstock with a filter aid, i.e. filter aid filtration (FAF).

[0048] Preferably, additionally or alternatively to step ii-a) and / step ii-b) the pretreating may comprise at least distilling the the lipid feedstock to obtain the pretreated lipid feedstock having a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising phosphorus (P), and, optionally, a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising metal, when compared to the lipid feedstock. Pretreating step ii) comprising step ii-c) distillation typically provideseither the bottom product or the distillate as the at pretreated lipid feedstock. In an embodiment, pretreating step ii) comprising distillation comprises deodorization.

[0049] In addition to the preferred pretreatment step(s) of ii-a) heat-treating and / or ii-b) treating with acid and / or adsorbent and / or ii-c) distillation, the pretreating may further comprise one or more further pretreatment steps selected from heat-treating (HT), heat-treating with adsorbent (HTA), treating with acid and / or adsorbent, degumming, bleaching, deodorization, removal of solids, removal of volatiles, water washing, distillation, extraction, blending, and or any combination thereof, in particular selected from removal of solids, water washing, removal of volatiles, deodorization, distillation, extraction, blending, and any combination thereof.

[0050] In a preferred embodiment the pretreating in step ii) comprises HT or HTA, followed by an evaporation step. In an embodiment, the pretreatment process comprises HT or HTA, followed by an evaporation step and a bleaching step. In an embodiment, the pretreatment process comprises HT or HTA, and bleaching. In an embodiment, the pretreatment process comprises HT with alkali addition and bleaching. In an embodiment, the pretreatment process comprises HT, bleaching and deodorization.

[0051] Step ii-a): Heat-treating (HT) in step ii)

[0052] As part of the pretreating in step ii) the lipid feedstock is preferably subjected to heat-treating. The term “heat-treating” as used herein refers to maintaining the lipid feedstock within a desired heat treatment temperature (range) for a sufficient time period. Further conditions of the heat-treating may vary as described hereby. Typically, the heat-treatment is carried out in the absence of added hydrogen and in the absence of a catalyst.

[0053] The lipid feedstock may be heat-treated as such or in the presence of water. Advantageously at least a small amount of water is present in the heat-treating. Water can be water dissolved in the lipid feedstock or water added to the lipid feedstock, either as such or as an aqueous solution, resulting in an oil-water mixture. The aqueous solution may further comprise acid such as citric acid, phosphoric acid, or sulphuric acid, or alkali, such as NaOH, in order to enhance the removal of phosphorus and metals. Need for acid or alkali addition depends on lipid feedstock impurities and the possibility to post-treat the heat-treated product. The heat-treating may also be performed in the presence of an adsorbent (HTA), whereby the adsorbent may enhance the removal of certain impurities, in particular Si containing impurities, and / or acts as a filter aid for the removal of the impurities. The heat-treatment may also be carried out in the absence of added acid and / or added alkali and / or added adsorbent.

[0054] Generally the amount of water dissolved in the lipid feedstock is adequate and no water addition for the heat-treating is done. Keeping the water content low contributes to avoidance of emulsions and allows lower processing pressure, in particular when the water content is less than 1 wt%, or preferably less than 0.5 wt% water of the total weight of the lipid feedstock in the heat-treating step.

[0055] In an embodiment the lipid feedstock in heat-treating step advantageously contains less than 10 wt%, preferably less than 5 wt%, such as 0.05 wt% to 2 wt%, preferably less than 1.5 wt%, such as from 0.2 wt% to 1.5 wt%, more preferably less than 0.5 wt% water of the total weight of the lipid feedstock.

[0056] In an alternative embodiment water is added to the lipid feedstock. The amount of water may be e.g. in a ratio (w / w) of lipid feedstock to water of from about 1:1 to about 10:1. In one aspect, the amount of added water may be in any range of from 1 wt% to 10 wt%, such as from 5 wt% to 8 wt% in relation to the lipid feedstock in heat-treating, the water being provided as such or as part of an aqueous solution. Water can be added to the lipid feedstock as such or as an aqueous solution, as discussed earlier, either directly to the heat-treating step or before.

[0057] The heat-treating (HT) in step ii-a) is accomplished at a temperature of at least 150°C, such as from 150°C to 400 °C, preferably at least 180 °C such as from 180 to 350 °C, preferably of at least 200 °C, such as from 200 to 350 °C, preferably of at least 220 °C, such as from 220 to 350 °C, more preferably of at least 270°C, such as from 270 to 350 °C, most preferably of at least 330 °C, such as from 330 to 350 °C. Depending on the desired other conditions a temperature of preferably at least 180 °C, such as from 180 to 325 °C, preferably of at least 200 °C, such as from 200 to 350 °C, preferably of at least 220 °C, such as from 220 to 325 °C, more preferably of at least 270°C, such as from 270 to 300 °C, most preferably of at least 280 °C, such as from 280 to 290 °C, may also be considered. The heat-treating promotes theseparation of impurities, such as phosphorus, as solid precipitates i.e. solid rejects. Temperatures above 150 °C allow formation of solid rejects from the lipid material, which may, in the presence of free water, become at least partly dissolved in the water phase. In temperatures above 325 °C thermal cracking of the components may start to be observed, however in presence of water temperatures up to 400 °C may be desirable.

[0058] The heat-treating in step ii-a) may be carried out at a pressure from 100 to 6500 kPa(a), such as from 100 to 5100 kPa(a), preferably from 150 to 2100 kPa(a), more preferably from 200 to 600 kPa(a), most preferably from 300 to 500 kPa(a). A person skilled in the art will be competent to adjust the pressure to fit the intended purpose, appreciating that elevating the pressure minimizes losses of lipid material in the heat treatment step.

[0059] The residence time in the heat-treating in step ii-a) may be from less than a minute up to a few hours depending on the temperature. A person skilled in the art will be competent to adjust the time to fit the intended purpose, appreciating that at higher temperatures a shorter residence time is sufficient. In an embodiment the residence time is from 1 to 300 minutes, such as 1 to 120 minutes, preferably 1 to 30 minutes. In an embodiment where at least 5 wt%, such as 5 to 50 wt% water in relation to the lipid feedstock, provided as such or as an aqueous solution, is present in the heat treatment, the residence time is advantageously from 1 to 100 minutes, preferably from 1 to 5 minutes, to prevent excessive hydrolysis of the heat-treated lipid feedstock.

[0060] In one embodiment, the heat-treating is accomplished at a high temperature, such as from 300 °C to 400 °C, preferably from 350 °C to 400 °C, in presence of water or an aqueous solution, such as 30 wt% to 50 wt% of water, wherein the residence time may be short, such as from 1 min to 100 min, and, preferably, a pressure from 4000 to 6500 kPa(a).

[0061] In an embodiment the heat-treating in step ii-a) is accomplished with adsorbent (HTA).The adsorbent may for example be a filter aid for the removal of impurities. In an embodiment, the heat treatment with adsorbent is performed in a temperature from 180 °C to 325 °C, preferably from 200 °C to 300 °C, more preferably from 240 °C to 280 °C, optionally in the presence of an acid. In an embodiment, the adsorbent is selected from alumina silicate, silica gel and mixtures thereof, and is typically added in an amount of 0.1 wt-% to 10 wt-%, such as 0.5 wt-%. In an embodiment, the HTA can be performed under absolute pressure of 0.01to 8000 kPa, such as from 50 to 5000 kPa. A heat treatment aided with adsorbent is an especially beneficial pretreatment process for feedstocks comprising crude tall oil (CTO) and tall oil pitch (TOP).

[0062] Heat-treating in step ii-a) may be performed in any suitable reactor wherein the indicated conditions may be achieved. Examples of suitable reactors include mixed reactors and / or tube reactors. Further, the heat-treating in step ii-a) may be performed in one or more batches and / or in continuous mode.

[0063] Generally, it is advantageous to boost the contact and transfer between free water, such as the added water or the aqueous solution, and the lipid feedstock during the heat-treating. Accordingly, in preferred embodiments, mixing is provided.

[0064] After the heat-treating in step ii-a) a heat-treated lipid feedstock is obtained. The heat-treated lipid feedstock may then be directly subjected to phase separation, if required, and / or it may be further purified by treatment with an acid and / or adsorbent material to obtain the pretreated lipid feedstock.

[0065] A heat treatment, with or without adsorbent, optionally followed by filtration and / or bleaching, is an especially beneficial pretreating step ii) for feedstocks comprising, for example, brown grease and / or SAO. In one embodiment pretreating step ii) comprises HTA followed by a flash evaporation. In one embodiment, the pretreating step ii) comprises HTA followed by bleaching, or optionally followed by flash evaporation and bleaching. An example of HTA can be found in W02020 / 016410, which is hereby incorporated by reference. An example of HTA can be found in W02020 / 016410, which is hereby incorporated by reference

[0066] Step ii-b) Treating with an Acid and / or Adsorbent Material in Step ii)

[0067] In step ii) the lipid feedstock may alternatively or additionally be subjected to purification by treating the lipid feedstock or the heat-treated lipid feedstock, respectively, with an acid and / or adsorbent material, in particular under bleaching conditions, to obtain a treated lipid feedstock. Additional purification of the heat-treated lipid feedstock is particularlyadvantageous for lipid feedstocks having higher amounts of phosphorous and / or metal impurities.

[0068] The treatment with acid and / or adsorbent material aims at minimizing the content of impurities, such as pigments (e.g. carotenoids and chlorophylls), metals and / or phosphorus, in the treated material. It involves contacting, in particular mixing, the material to be treated with an acid and / or an absorbent material. Treatment with acid and / or adsorbent material in step ii-b) may be carried out in the presence of an acid, such as citric acid and / or phosphoric acid and / or acidic or acid activated adsorbent. Further, treating with acid and / or adsorbent material in step ii-b) is typically carried out in the presence of a small amount of water. Advantageously bleaching earth or other adsorbent such as silica can be added to the (heat-treated) lipid feedstock in this step to adsorb impurities, such as remaining metals and / or phosphorus.

[0069] The treatment with acid and / or adsorbent in step ii-b) is preferably accomplished under bleaching conditions. A skilled person will be competent to select the bleaching conditions. Typically the temperature in the treatment with acid and / or adsorbent can be for example in the range from 80 to 120 °C. Further, typically the pressure is close to atmospheric pressure, such as from 60 kPa(a) to 600 kPa(a), preferably from 80 kPa(a) to 200 kPa(a). Typically, the treatment with acid / and or adsorbent in step ii-b) is carried out in the absence of added hydrogen and in the absence of a further catalyst.

[0070] Prior to treatment with acid and / or adsorbent in step ii-b) and after the heat-treating in step ii-a) the heat-treated lipid feedstock may be subjected to phase separation, in particular solids removal, and impurities containing reject may be discarded. Solids formed in the heat-treating and containing solid impurities may be phase-separated based on the lipid material forming a phase of its own, an oily phase, from which any impurities containing aqueous and / or solid rejects may be removed by ordinary separation unit processes. Accordingly, the term “phase-separating” or “phase separation” as used herein and hereafter refers both to liquid-liquid and liquid-solid phase separation. Suitable phase separation means include, but are not limited to, filtration, centrifugation, settling, and any combination thereof.

[0071] Prior to treatment with acid and / or adsorbent in step ii-b) the (heat-treated) lipid feedstock may additionally or alternatively be subjected to drying, in particular evaporation, underconditions capable of removing water vapor from said (heat-treated) lipid feedstock. However, the evaporation conditions are controlled such that low-boiling components, such as low-boiling fatty acids of the lipid material are not lost. According to an embodiment containing evaporation, the evaporation may be performed at temperature from 50 to 130 °C, and pressure from 1 to 100 kPa(a). As an example, a combination of temperature of 105 °C and pressure of 8 kPa(a) could be applied to evaporation.

[0072] Preferably the heat-treated lipid feedstock is directly subjected to treatment with acid and / or adsorbent and no intermediate recovery is accomplished.

[0073] After treating with acid and / or adsorbent in step ii-b) a treated lipid feedstock is obtained. The treated lipid feedstock is then advantageously subjected to recovery by phase separation to obtain the pretreated lipid feedstock.

[0074] Phase separation in step ii)

[0075] As a part for the pre-treatment of step ii) the lipid feedstock may be subjected to phase separation, such as filtration and / or removal of volatiles, preferably filtration, to provide the pretreated lipid feedstock.

[0076] This is typically performed after ii-a) heat-treating the lipid feedstock as discussed herein and / or ii-b) treating the lipid feedstock with an acid and / or adsorbent material, preferably under bleaching conditions, as discussed herein, to obtain a heat-treated lipid feedstock and / or treated lipid feedstock, respectively. Accordingly, the heat-treated lipid feedstock and / or the treated lipid feedstock advantageously subjected to phase separation, preferably filtration to recover the pretreated lipid feedstock.

[0077] The phase separation, preferably filtration, advantageously removes a separate phase comprising impurities separated from the lipid feedstock by the pretreatment. The separate phase may be a gel, a precipitate, a solid, or a liquid phase that is immiscible with the pretreated lipid feedstock, allowing it to be separated from the feedstock.

[0078] Solid impurities comprised in the pretreated lipid feedstock, such as those formed in the heat-treating and / or treating with acid and / or adsorbent, as well as any other solid material,may be phase-separated based on the lipid material of the pretreated lipid feedstock forming a phase of its own, an oily phase, from which any impurities containing aqueous and / or solid rejects may be removed by ordinary separation unit processes. Further, when free water is present in the pretreatment of step ii) at least some of the water soluble solid rejects may become dissolved in the water phase. Accordingly, the term “phase-separating” or “phase separation” as used herein and hereafter refers both to liquid-liquid and liquid-solid phase separation. Suitable phase separation means include, but are not limited to, filtration, any gravitational separation method such as centrifugation, settling, decanting, and any combination thereof.

[0079] Where suitable, the phase separation is preferably accomplished by filtration. Filtration may be performed by any means found suitable for this purpose by a skilled person.

[0080] When free water is present, the phase separation is preferably at least partly or fully accomplished by a gravitational separation method, such as centrifugation.

[0081] Prior or after the phase separation the lipid feedstock may be subjected to drying, in particular evaporation, under conditions capable of removing water vapor from said lipid feedstock. However, the evaporation conditions are controlled such that low-boiling components, such as low-boiling fatty acids of the lipid material are not lost. Typically the evaporation may be performed at temperature from 50 to 130 °C, and pressure from 1 to 100 kPa(a). As an example, a combination of temperature of 105 °C and pressure of 8 kPa(a) may be applied to evaporation.

[0082] The obtained pretreated lipid feedstock obtained in accordance of step ii) of the present invention typically comprises residual phosphorus and metals both below 30 mg / kg, such as from 0.8 to 30 mg / kg, preferably below 2.0 mg / kg such as from 0.8 to 2.0 mg / kg, more typically close to 1.0 mg / kg, such as from 0.8 to 1.0 mg / kg. Impurity reduction for phosphorus is typically over 90% and for metals over 95% as compared to the lipid feedstock. The actual purification result is dependent on the quality of the initial feedstock.

[0083] Preferably the pretreating step ii) comprises ii-a) heat-treating the lipid feedstock, preferably in the presence of water, at a heat treatment temperature of at least 150 °C, such as from 150 to 400 °C to obtain a heat-treated lipid feedstock, optionally phase separating, preferably filtering the heat-treated lipid feedstock, and ii-b) thereafter treating the heat-treated lipid feedstock with an acid and / or adsorbent material, preferably under bleaching conditions, toobtain a treated lipid feedstock, and optionally phase separating, preferably filtering the treated lipid feedstock, to obtain the pretreated lipid feedstock.

[0084] Polishing, Step iii)

[0085] After pretreating of step ii), the pretreated lipid feedstock is subjected to a polishing purification by passing the pretreated lipid feedstock through an arrangement comprising a selective body having an ion exchange functionality for capturing phosphorus and, optionally, metal ions and comprising impermeable walls and flow channel(s) allowing through flow of the pretreated lipid feedstock to reduce at least one impurity in the pretreated lipid feedstock, the at least one impurity selected from impurities comprising phosphorus (P) and, optionally, impurities comprising at least one metal to obtain a polished lipid feedstock having a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising phosphorus (P), and optionally a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising metal, when compared to the pretreated lipid feedstock.

[0086] The polishing purification may be performed above the melting point of the pretreated lipid feedstock. Typically the temperature in step iii) is thus above 60 °C, such as from 60 to 120 °C. The pressure in step iii) is typically from 50 to 500 kPa.

[0087] The selective body with ion exchange functionality may be manufactured by additive manufacturing, such as laser 3D printing, preferably using selective laser sintering (SLS) technique. The selective body advantageously has an essentially defined structure achieved by the additive manufacturing, preferably laser printing, of sequential layers, each having a defined layout. Thus, properties of inner and outer layers can be adjusted accurately. The walls may have a non-porous and / or porous structure and thus form a channel for a liquid. The properties of the selective body are efficiently controllable in a macroscopic scale using computer-aided design (CAD) and in a microscopic scale by fine tuning the parameters of the additive manufacturing.

[0088] As used herein “additive manufacturing” is defined according to ISO / ASTM 52900 as a process of joining materials to make parts from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive and formative manufacturing methods.Importantly, the collection of the phosphorus and, optionally, metal ions is achieved by chemical interaction (bond formation, electrostatic interaction and / or weak interactions by van der Waals or dispersion forces) with the ion exchange functional component of the selective body. Hence, the phosphorous and metal ions, respectively, are tightly bound to the material and can be stripped off only by using suitable washing solutions.

[0089] Accordingly the selective body comprising an ion exchange functionality preferably comprises chemically active material for providing the ion exchange functionality. Advantageously the chemically active material is selected from ion exchange materials. The chemically active material may thus comprise functional groups providing ion exchange properties.

[0090] The ion exchange material is typically selected from the group consisting of strong cation exchange resins (SAC), weak cation exchange resins (WAC), strong base anion exchange resins (SBA), weak base anion exchange resins (WBA), chelating exchange resins and combinations thereof. More specifically, the functional groups in the chemically active material may belong to group of carboxylates, primary amine or ammonium, secondary amine or ammonium, tertiary amine or ammonium, sulphates, sulfonic acids, phosphoric acids, phosphonic acids, diethanolamines, thioureas, thiols, thiouronium, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or any combination thereof. Preferably the functional groups in the chemically active material are selected from tertiary amines, sulfonic acids and any combinations thereof.

[0091] In addition to the chemically active material, the selective body comprising an ion exchange functionally is typically composed of a sinterable polymer. The sinterable polymers typically comprise any one or several of polyamide, polypropylene, polyurethane, polystyrene polylactic acid, polyetheretherketone, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyaryletherketone, polyetherimide and other thermoplastic polymers. Accordingly the selective body comprising an ion exchange functionally is preferably obtained by additive manufacturing, preferably laser sintering, the chemically active material mixed with a sinterable polymer, preferably polyamide, more preferably nylon. The sinterable polymer is preferably in the form of a polymer powder.The use of sinterable polymers for the manufacturing of the selective body allows formation of impermeable walls and flow channel(s) allowing through flow of the recovered pretreated lipid feedstock. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the selective body may have scavenging enhancing internal structure, CAD designed flow channels, allowing greater surface area for fluid and solid particles to pass through the scavenger and thus leading to lower pressure drop for the whole assembly. The scavenging enhancing internal structure comprising flow channels is manufactured by designing the flow channels into the CAD model used for controlling the additive manufacturing, in particular the laser sintering, during manufacture.

[0092] Low pressure drop over the system will reduce the required energy to transport the fluid through the scavenging system. The operating and capital costs of the pumping system are reduced with lower pressure drop scavengers.

[0093] In an embodiment the selective body is composed of material having a particle size ranging from 10 to 400 pm, defined by laser diffraction methods using for example Malvern Mastersizer 3000 particle size analyzer according to ISO 13320:2020. Thus both the polymer powder material and the ion exchange material included in the selective body have a particle size within the above mentioned range. With smaller particle size, smaller channels and larger reactive surface area is achieved.

[0094] Suitable equipment usable as the selective body with ion exchange functionality and manufacture thereof are described in e.g. WO2019008232.

[0095] In an embodiment, the selective body is a chemically active material having ion exchange functionality and comprises a sinterable polymer, impermeable walls, and flow channels, and is manufactured by 3D printing.

[0096] The thus rendered polished lipid feedstock typically comprises residual phosphorus below 0.7 mg / kg, such as from 0 to 0.7 mg / kg, preferably below 0.5 mg / kg such as from 0 to 0.5 mg / kg, more preferably below 0.4 mg / kg, such as from 0 to 0.4 mg / kg. Impurity reduction for phosphorus is typically over 30%, preferably over 50%, more preferably over 60% as compared to the pretreated lipid feedstock. When reduction of metal impurities is sought, the thus rendered polished lipid feedstock typically comprises residual metal below 0.7 mg / kg, such as from 0 to 0.7 mg / kg, preferably below 0.5 mg / kg such as from 0 to 0.5 mg / kg,more preferably below 0.4 mg / kg, such as from 0 to 0.4 mg / kg, with 0.4 mg / kg being the typical limit of quantification. Impurity reduction for metal is typically over 30%, preferably over 50%, more preferably over 60% as compared to the pretreated lipid feedstock. The actual purification result is dependent on the nature and quality of the initial feedstock.

[0097] Hydroprocessing of the Polished Lipid Feedstock

[0098] After the lipid feedstock has been pretreated as discussed in the foregoing it may be used as such and / or subjected to further valorization, such as catalytic hydroprocessing, to obtain renewable hydrocarbons such as e.g. drop-in renewable fuel(s), renewable fuel component(s) and / or other valuable renewable hydrocarbon products. Such catalytic upgrading processes include, but are not limited to, catalytic cracking, catalytic hydrocracking, thermo-catalytic cracking, catalytic hydrotreatment, fluid catalytic cracking, catalytic ketonization, and catalytic esterification. Such processes require the liquid feedstock to be sufficiently pure and free from impurities that may otherwise hamper the catalytic process or deactivate or poison the catalyst(s) present in the process.

[0099] Accordingly the present invention further provides a process for providing at least one renewable hydrocarbon product comprising x) pretreating a lipid feedstock as defined herein to obtain a polished lipid feedstock; and y) subjecting the polished lipid feedstock to hydroprocessing, such as catalytic hydroprocessing, in particular hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), hydroisomerization (HI), and / or hydrocracking (HC), to obtain at least one renewable hydrocarbon product.

[0100] The hydroprocessing, preferably catalytic hydroprocessing, may be any upgrading process employing hydrogen and where the lipid material may be used as the process feed, optionally with a co-feed. For example, the hydroprocessing may be an upgrading process to obtain liquid transportation fuel components, solvents, technical fluids, such as electrotechnical fluids, fatty alcohols, cracking feedstocks, such as feedstocks for thermal cracking and / or catalytic cracking, and / or base chemicals for different syntheses. Preferably the hydroprocessing is catalytic hydroprocessing.

[0101] According to an embodiment, a co-feed of fossil origin is fed to catalytic hydroprocessing.The hydroprocessing may comprise altering molecular weight, removal of heteroatoms, altering degree of saturation, rearranging molecular structure, or any combination thereof. The hydroprocessing comprises preferably altering molecular weight of the process feed or any intermediate stream or intermediate product derivable or derived therefrom, removal of heteroatoms from the process feed or any intermediate stream or intermediate product derivable or derived therefrom, altering degree of saturation of the process feed or any intermediate stream or intermediate product derivable or derived therefrom, rearranging molecular structure of the process feed or any intermediate stream or intermediate product derivable or derived therefrom, or any combination thereof.

[0102] In certain preferred embodiments, the hydroprocessing comprises hydrotreatment, isomerization, and / or cracking, preferably hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), hydroisomerization (HI), and / or hydrocracking (HC), of the process feed or an intermediate stream or intermediate product derivable or derived therefrom, optionally followed by fractionation.

[0103] In certain preferred embodiments, the catalytic hydroprocessing comprises catalytic hydroprocessing converting the lipid material to one or more drop-in liquid transportation fuel(s), one or more liquid transportation fuel component(s) and / or other valuable hydrocarbon product(s). The process comprises subjecting the process feed to hydroprocessing comprising hydrodeoxygenation, hydroisomerization, and optionally hydrocracking, followed by fractionation of the hydroprocessing effluent and recovery of one or more drop-in liquid transport fuel(s), one or more liquid transportation fuel component(s) and / or other valuable hydrocarbon products from the fractionation.

[0104] According to an embodiment the catalytic hydrotreating comprises one or more of hydrodeoxygenation, hydroisomerization, hydrocracking, hydrodenitrogenation, hydrodesulfurization, hydrodehalogenation, hydrodearomatization, and hydrogenation of double bonds.

[0105] The catalytic hydroprocessing may occur in the presence of a catalyst selected from Pd, Pt, Ni, Co, Mo, Ru, Rh, W, or any combination of these, such as CoMo, NiMo, NiW, CoNiMo, NiMoW or together with SAPO-11, SAPO-41, ZSM-22, ZSM-23, ZSM-12, ZSM-48, ZSM-5, beta zeolites, ferrierite and mixtures thereof, such as Pt / SAPO-ll / A12O3, Pt / ZSM-22 / A12O3, Pt / ZSM-23 / A12O3, Pt / SAPO-1 l / SiO2, optionally on a support, wherein the support comprises preferably alumina and / or silica.

[0106] EXPERIMENTAL

[0107] P and metal analysis: The concentration of phosphorus and metals was analyzed from all samples by first digesting the sample with acids in a microwave oven to obtain a clear water / acid matrix (assessed visually), then diluting it to a known amount and analyzing it against the acid based calibration using ICP-MS / MS (tandem Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry). Elements detected by the method include Li, B, Na, Mg, Al, P, K, Ca, Ti, V, Ch, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Mb, Cd, Sn, and Ba.

[0108] Lipid feedstock used in the Examples is 100% animal fat.

[0109] Selective polishing filter 1 was obtained by SLS utilizing DOWEX® 21K CI anion exchange resin and Nylon 12.

[0110] Selective polishing filter 2 was obtained by SLS utilizing DOWEX® 50W X8 cation exchange resin and Nylon 12.

[0111] Example - Purification with active 3D printed filter

[0112] A lipid feedstock was first pretreated by bleaching (treatment with 500 ppm citric acid, 0.5 wt% water and 0.8 wt% bleaching earth, drying and filtration) to obtain a pretreated lipid feedstock. This recovered pretreated lipid feedstock was then further purified by filtration through a 3D printed selective polishing filter of activated nylon material. The typical temperature of 3D printed selective polishing filtration was ~60 °C and the samples were taken after 10 ml of feed was run through the filter (filter volume 1 ml).

[0113] For comparison the same pretreated lipid feedstock was also filtered with a 0.45 um membrane filter or bleached again (citric acid 500 pm and bleaching earth 0.7 wt% added and mixed at 85 C for 20 min, followed by drying at 105 °C for 25 min at 80 mbar and filtration through a precoat of bleaching earth) or treated with pure ion exchange material (DOWEX 50W X8), 1.5 wt%, 60 min at 80 °C, separation by centrifugation 30 min at 80 °C, 4050 RCF).For analysis, after all treatments the products were filtered with 0.45 um membrane filtration to remove any solid particles. All samples were analyzed for phosphorus. The results are shown in Table 1. The products after filtration through the 3D printed selective polishing filters had reduced phosphorus level. The selective polishing filter 2 was able to reduce the level of P by 65% of the initial. The selective polishing filter 2 was able to reduce the level of P in a significant amount as compared to comparable pure ion exchange material.

[0114] Table 1

[0115]

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method for pretreating a lipid feedstock, the method comprising:i) providing the lipid feedstock,ii) pretreating the lipid feedstock in one or more pretreatment step(s) to reduce at least one impurity in the lipid feedstock, the at least one impurity selected from impurities comprising phosphorus (P) and, optionally, impurities comprising at least one metal, to obtain a pretreated lipid feedstock, whereby the thus obtained pretreated lipid feedstock has a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising phosphorus (P), and, optionally, a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising metal, when compared to the lipid feedstock;iii) subjecting the pretreated lipid feedstock to a polishing purification by passing the pretreated lipid feedstock through an arrangement comprising a selective body having an ion exchange functionality for capturing phosphorus and, optionally, metal ions, and comprising impermeable walls and flow channel(s) allowing through flow of the pretreated lipid feedstock to reduce at least one impurity in the pretreated lipid feedstock, the at least one impurity selected from impurities comprising phosphorus (P) and, optionally, impurities comprising at least one metal and to obtain a polished lipid feedstock having a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising phosphorus (P), and optionally a reduced quantity of at least one impurity comprising metal, when compared to the pretreated lipid feedstock.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the pretreating in step ii) comprises at least one of the following:ii-a) heat-treating the lipid feedstock, preferably in the presence of water, at a heat treatment temperature of at least 150 °C, such as from 150 to 400 °C, and optionally, under a pressure from 100 to 6500 kPa(a) and / or for a residence time from 1 to 300 minutes, to obtain a heat-treated lipid feedstock,ii-b) treating the lipid feedstock with an acid and / or adsorbent material, preferably under bleaching conditions, to obtain a treated lipid feedstock,ii-c) distilling the lipid feedstock,or any combination of ii-a), ii-b) and ii-c).

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the selective body having an ion exchange functionality is manufactured by additive manufacturing, such as laser 3D printing, preferably using selective laser sintering (SLS) technique.

4. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the selective body having an ion exchange functionality has an essentially defined structure achieved by the additive manufacturing, preferably laser printing, of sequential layers, each having a defined layout.

5. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the selective body has scavenging enhancing internal structure, preferably CAD designed flow channels.

6. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the selective body has an ion exchange functionality and a 3D printing layout due to being manufactured by laser 3D printing, and further comprises impermeable walls and flow channel(s).

7. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the impermeable walls of the selective body have a non-porous and / or porous structure forming a channel for a liquid.

8. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the pretreating comprises at least heat-treating the lipid feedstock, preferably in the presence of water, at a heat treatment temperature of at least 150 °C, such as from 150 to 400 °C to obtain a heat-treated lipid feedstock, and / or ii-b) treating the (heat-treated) lipid feedstock with an acid and / or adsorbent material, preferably under bleaching conditions, to obtain a treated lipid feedstock.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the pretreating step ii) comprises ii-a) heat-treating the lipid feedstock, preferably in the presence of water, at a heat treatment temperature of at least 150 °C, such as from 150 to 400 °C to obtain a heat-treated lipid feedstock, optionally phase separating, preferably filtering the heat-treated lipid feedstock, and thereafter ii-b) treating the heat-treated lipid feedstock with an acid and / or adsorbent material, preferably under bleaching conditions, to obtain a treated lipid feedstock, and optionally phase separating, preferably filtering the treated lipid feedstock, to obtain the pretreated lipid feedstock.

10. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the pretreating in step ii) further comprises a pretreatment selected from removal of solids, water washing, removal of volatiles, deodorization, distillation, extraction, blending, and any combination thereof.

11. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the selective body comprises chemically active material and a sinterable polymer.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the active polishing filter utilised in the polishing purification at the step iii) is obtained by additive manufacturing, preferably laser sintering, the chemically active material mixed with a sinterable polymer.13 The method of claims 11 or 12, wherein the chemically active material is an ion exchange material, more preferably selected from the group consisting of strong cation exchange resins (SAC), weak cation exchange resins (WAC), strong base anion exchange resins (SB A), weak base anion exchange resins (WBA), chelating exchange resins and combinations thereof.

14. The method of any one of the claims 11-13, wherein the sinterable polymer is selected from a group consisting of polyamide, polypropylene, polyurethane, polystyrene polylactic acid, polyetheretherketone, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyaryletherketone, polyetherimide and other thermoplastic polymers, preferably polyamide, more preferably nylon.

15. The method of any one of the claims 11-14, wherein the chemically active material has functional groups comprising carboxylates, primary amine or ammonium, secondary amine or ammonium, tertiary amine or ammonium, sulphates, sulfonic acids, phosphoric acids, phosphonic acids, diethanolamines, thioureas, thiols, thiouronium, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or any combination thereof; preferably the functional groups of the chemically active material are selected from tertiary amines, sulfonic acids and any combinations thereof.

16. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the selective body is composed of material having a particle size ranging from 10 to 400 pm, defined by laser diffraction.

17. The method of any preceding claims, wherein polishing step iii) is achieved:• at a temperature above a melting point of the pretreated lipid feedstock, preferably at a temperature of at least 60 °C such as 60 to 120 °C; and• at a pressure from 50 to 500 kPa.

18. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the polished lipid feedstock typically comprises residual phosphorus below 0.7 mg / kg, such as from 0 to 0.7 mg / kg, preferably below 0.5 mg / kg such as from 0 to 0.5 mg / kg, more preferably below 0.4 mg / kg, such as from 0 to 0.4 mg / kg, with 0.4 mg / kg being the typical limit of quantification.

19. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the lipid feedstock comprises free fatty acids (FFA), esters of fatty acids, triglycerides, or combinations thereof.

20. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the lipid feedstock comprises at least 5 mg / kg, such as from 5 to 5000 mg / kg, phosphorus impurities, and at least 10 mg / kg, such as from 10 to 10000 mg / kg, metal impurities, measured as elemental phosphorus and elemental metal(s).

21. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the lipid feedstock comprises at least 15 mg / kg, such as 15 to 2000 mg / kg, phosphorus impurities, and at least 20 mg / kg, such as 20 to 3000 mg / kg, metal impurities, measured as elemental phosphorus and elemental metal(s).

22. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the lipid feedstock comprises soapstock acid oil (SAO), low quality animal fat (LQAF), choice white grease (CWG), poultry fat (APF), brown grease (BG), used cooking oil (UCO), palm oil mill effluent (POME), or any combinations thereof.

23. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the impurity reduction of polished lipid feedstock for phosphorus in step iii) is over 30%, preferably over 50%, more preferably over 60% as compared to the recovered pretreated lipid feedstock.

24. The method of any preceding claims, wherein the impurity reduction for metal in step iii) is over 30%, preferably over 50%, more preferably over 60% as compared to the recovered pretreated lipid feedstock.

25. A process for providing at least one renewable hydrocarbon product comprisingx) pretreating a lipid feedstock as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 24 to obtain a polished lipid feedstock, andy) subjecting the polished lipid feedstock to hydroprocessing, such as catalytic hydroprocessing, in particular hydrodeoxygenation (HDO), hydroisomerization (HI), and / or hydrocracking (HC), to obtain at least one renewable hydrocarbon product.

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