(61c) Oligomerization of Ethylene to Drop-in Fuel Hydrocarbons Using Bifunctional Heterogeneous Catalysts

The conversion of ethanol to hydrocarbons is a promising technology for the production of drop-in fuels from lignocellulosic biomass. The process begins through the dehydration of ethanol to ethylene, which is followed with an oligomerization step to produce hydrocarbons suitable for drop-in fuels. The latter process has been shown to be effective when using bifunctional nickel supported on mesoporous silica-alumina substrates, where the nickel metal facilitates oligomerization and the mesopores of the support allow for improved diffusion of bulkier oligomers compared to microporous materials. In this talk, we will report the specific catalytic oligomerization activity of a variety of bifunctional catalysts consisting of nickel, titanium, chromium, and cobalt metal supported on substrates such as HZSM-5, HBeta, MCM-41, and HY. In addition, we will discuss the techniques used for catalyst synthesis as well as the effect of reaction conditions on parameters such as conversion and liquid product distribution. Our goal is to translate the effects of different reaction conditions and bifunctional catalysts into kinetic models to predict the yields of permanent gases, paraffins (linear and branched), olefins, naphthenes, aromatics, and solid coke through this process.