Method and system embodiments for converting ethanol to para-xylene and ortho-xylene

Patent · 10 May 2022

OSTI ID:1892909

Ramasamy, Karthikeyan K.; Guo, Mond; Rosin, Richard Russell; Kocal, Joseph Anthony

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a method and system for converting ethanol to para-xylene. The method also provides a pathway to produce terephthalic acid from biomass-based feedstocks. In some embodiments, the disclosed method produces p-xylene with high selectivity over other aromatics typically produced in the conversion of ethanol to xylenes, such as m-xylene, ethyl benzene, benzene, toluene, and the like. And, in some embodiments, the method facilitates the ability to use ortho/para mixtures of methylbenzyaldehyde for preparing ortho/para xylene product mixtures that are amendable to fractionation to separate the para- and ortho-xylene products thereby providing a pure feedstock of para-xylene that can be used to form terephthalic anhydride and a pure feedstock of ortho-xylene that can be used for other purposes, such as phthalic anhydride.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); LanzaTech, Inc., Skokie, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute (Richland, WA); LanzaTech, Inc. (Skokie, IL)
• Patent Number(s): 11,325,873
• Application Number: 17/387,725
• OSTI ID: 1892909
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English