Method for obtaining higher aliphatic alcohols starting from aliphatic primary alcohols by means of a condensation reaction.
| Patent title | Improved process for the transformation of primary aliphatic alcohols into higher aliphatic alcohols |
|---|---|
| Thematic area | Industry, Digital and Security |
| Ownership | ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA' DI BOLOGNA |
| Inventors | Francesco Puzzo, CARLO LUCARELLI, Valerio Zanotti, Fabrizio Cavani, Rita Mazzoni, Tommaso Tabanelli, Cristiana Cesari |
| Protection | Italy, Europe, USA |
| Licensing status | Available for development agreements, option, license and other exploitation agreements |
| Keywords | Ethanol, Butanol, Guerbet, Catalyst |
| Filed on | 05 April 2018 |
Over the past decade, applications of ethanol as a platform chemical have aroused new interest because of both environmental concerns connected with petrochemical processes and new economic opportunities seen in bio-based feedstocks.
Indeed, bio-ethanol has been demonstrated to be a promising and “green” reactant for both biofuels and biochemicals, particularly if it is derived from non-food crops and lignocellulosic materials (second-generation biomass).The catalytic conversion of (bio)ethanol into butanol is an attractive route to upgrade the modest fuel characteristics of this widely available bioderived substrate into a molecule that has properties much closer to conventional gasoline.
Starting from the known art, through the use of an additive, the patent offers a catalytic system able, through the controlled condensation of primary alkaline alcohols, to improve yields, selectivity and reaction times, responding to the technical problem related to by-products and to the energy cost of the process with an improved procedure.
Bio-ethanol has been demonstrated to be a promising and “green” reactant for both biofuels and biochemicals, particularly if it is derived from non-food crops and lignocellulosic materials (second-generation biomass).The catalytic conversion of (bio)ethanol into butanol is an attractive route to upgrade the modest fuel characteristics of this widely available bioderived substrate into a molecule that has properties much closer to conventional gasoline.
Advantages:
- Reaction time is lower, up to 4-10 times, if compared with the literature (similar conditions)
- considerable improvement on process costs and management
- the catalyst and the additive can be recycled without sensitive reduction of the catalytic activity.