Abstract: A process for the recovery of furfural, furfuryl alcohol, low molecular weight phenols and/or cellulose or a cellulose-rich material from a lignocellulosic material comprising: feeding a carrier gas into a reaction chamber to facilitate a fluidised bed effect and to carry reaction products and residues away from the reactor via entrainment; introducing a feedstock comprising particulate lignocellulosic material of a predetermined particle size into the reaction chamber; degrading the feedstock in the reaction chamber under an oxygen-containing atmosphere at a temperature of from 250° C. to 320° C.; and quenching the degraded feedstock and carrier gas to deposit solid residue entrained in the carrier gas and to condense a liquid product.

Abstract: This invention is directed to a method of preparing a natural resin by liquefying wood, bark, forest residues, wood industry residues, or other biomass using rapid destructive distillation (fast pyrolysis). Fast pyrolysis produces both vapors and char from biomass, and following removal of the char from the product vapors, a liquid pitch product is recovered and processed by distillation, evaporation, or a combination thereof, in order to obtain a natural resin which may be in either liquid or solid form. The natural resin comprises a total phenolic content from about 30% to about 80% (w/w), and is a highly-reactive ligninic compound that has been found to be suitable for use within resin formulations without requiring any further extraction or fractionation procedures. Resins comprising up to 60% natural resin have been prepared and tested in board production and found to exhibit similar properties associated with commercially available resins.

Abstract: Natural cresylic acid is processed to remove neutral oil impurities by countercurrent liquid/liquid extraction using a heavy phase solvent of a mixture of glycerol and another polyhydric alcohol, preferably triethylene glycol. The light phase solvent is a light paraffinic or cycloparaffinic hydrocarbon.

Abstract: A process is provided herein for extracting organic toxic contaminants including pentachlorophenol, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, and polychlorinated dibenzofurans, from wood, e.g., utility poles, fence posts, or railway ties. The process comprises extracting the wood with a supercritical fluid in conjunction with an entrainer having wood swelling properties and an agent to break the hydrogen bond between the organic toxic contaminants and the wood, at conventional supercritical fluid extraction temperatures and pressures. The process is further improved by exposing, either in a slurry of the wood phase, or in a liquid phase resulting from such extraction, the contaminants to UV, e.g., sunlight, in the presence of a photosensitizer. The present invention also provides for the photodegradation of a solution of organic toxic chemicals including pentachlorophenol, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, and polychlorinated dibenzofurans, by exposing such solution to UV, e.g.

Abstract: A discrete impure cresylic acid distillate fraction derived by fractional distillation of a natural cresylic acid feedstock from which tar bases and/or neutral oils have not been removed is subjected to extractive distillation with a polyhydric alcohol extractant and subsequent separation of the discrete cresylic acid fraction. The extractive distillation removes tar bases, neutral oils, undesirable phenolic substances, sulfur compounds, color-forming impurities and odor-imparting impurities.

Abstract: The invention is related to petrochemistry and is useful in the process of combined production of phenol and acetone by the cumene method. The method is a two stage process which minimizes waste water volume, diminishes equipment corrosion and minimizes consumption of cumene. In the first stage, the phenol tar is treated with a 2-5% water solution of a water soluble amine at a ratio of 1:1.5-1:4.0 to produce two layers, water and organic. At the second stage the water layer from the first stage is thermotreated. As a result, water soluble amino phenate decomposes to amine and phenol. Gaseous amine is removed from the system and then recycled to the first stage. The phenol water solution obtained from the thermotreatment is extracted by standard extraction agents (e.g. diisopropylether, cumene).The water layer from the phenol extraction is about 50-95% of the original water solution employed in the first stage and is then saturated with the amine and recycled to the first stage.

Abstract: Process for preparing regenerated humic acids from coal by means of the continuous oxidation on fluidized bed, characterized in that a coal of lignite, sub-bituminous or bituminous type is submitted to a preliminary oxidation under mild conditions in order to reduce the hydrogen content of said coal by an amount of 5 to 25% of hydrogen initially present in the starting coal, and that the resulting coal is subsequently submitted to an oxidation in order to produce the desired humic acids.

Abstract: A process is described for the removal of guaiacol from naturally occurring cresylic acid feed by heating the feed with a strong acid, particularly hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid, to produce a purified cresylic acid product essentially free of guaiacol and other methoxy aromatic compounds without significant loss of cresylic acid product.

Abstract: Purification of cresylic acid by guaiacol removal from lignite-based feed as well as other naturally occurring sources of cresylic acid is accomplished by catalytic demethylation in the presence of an alumina catalyst. In the process of this invention, de-pitched, dephenolated creyslic acid is vaporized and passed over a high surface area, alumina catalyst at temperature ranges of between 350.degree. C. to 400.degree. C. and at vapor flow rates measured as liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV), of about 1 hr..sup.-1 to demethylate the guaiacol.

Abstract: A process for removing guaiacols from naturally-occurring cresylic acid mixtures by pyrolysis is described.

Abstract: A method for the treatment of plant material to provide a protein-rich product and oil relatively free of gossypol. The process includes the steps of:a. contacting plant material with an aqueous monohydric alcohol solvent to extract oil and gossypol from the plant material and form a miscella fraction including the solvent, oil and gossypol, and a plant material fraction having gossypol removed therefrom;b. separating the solvent from the oil and gossypol in the miscella, preferably by membrane separation under pressure in a membrane separation unit, to form a first (retentate) fraction comprising the oil and gossypol, and a second (permeate) fraction comprising the solvent; andc. contacting the first fraction with an adsorbent effective to separate the gossypol from the oil therein.The plant material and oil remaining after the process are relatively free of gossypol and may be recovered for subsequent use. The plant material is especially valuable as a protein-rich food product or feed.

Abstract: Phenols such as cresol, phenol and xylenol etc. are obtained by thermal decomposition of a lignin-containing material in a state of a mixture of the lignin-containing material and a double ring aromatic hydrocarbon solvent.Spent liquid of a solvolysis pulping process can be used as the lignin-containing raw material in the present invention for manufacturing phenols, and the phenols obtained can be utilized as the solvent in the solvolysis process resulting in cost reduction in the pulp production process by self-supplying the necessary solvent in the solvolysis process.

Abstract: Coal tar oil is separated quantitatively into neutral oil, phenols and bases by a two stage extraction with overcritical gases. Carbon dioxide is employed as an overcritical extraction agent, and propane or butane are preferably added as entrainers. The neutral oil is obtained in the first stage. Tar bases can be employed as an additional entrainer for improving the selectivity. The bases are extracted in the second stage. The method is associated with the advantage that it saves energy and that no byproducts are generated.

Abstract: Liquefaction of lignin by hydrogenolysis in the presence of a catalytic composition of metal sulfides which are prepared in situ and in the presence of a lower aliphatic alcohol affords substantially increased yields of monophenols. When methanol is used in the presence of a catalyst which is a mixture of the sulfides of divalent iron, copper, and tin the total monophenols can be as high as 65% with the total cresols being about 45%. Phenol, which is used as a liquefying solvent, can itself be formed in good yield when lignin tar is used as the liquefying solvent. This affords the opportunity of conducting the liquefaction in a continuous fashion using two stages of reaction.

Abstract: Hydrocracking of lignin in the presence of a supported tungsten-nickel catalyst affords phenolic compounds in higher yield and with greater selectivity then previously obtainable. Mildly acidic supports, such as alumina, alumina-silica, aluminum phosphate, and silica-aluminum phosphate, have been found to be particularly effective. When the hydrocracking is done in the presence of water, a lower aliphatic alcohol, or a Lewis acid such as ferrous chloride, increased yields of both cresols and C.sub.6 -C.sub.8 and C.sub.6 -C.sub.9 phenolics are obtained.

Abstract: Hydrocarbon liquids are obtained from carbonaceous materials, such as coal, by contacting the carbonaceous materials with a metal carbonyl or a low valent complex of the transition metals and water gas under alkaline conditions to form a reaction mixture, and then heating the reaction mixture to a sufficient temperature and pressure to obtain the hydrocarbon liquids. In a second embodiment, the carbonaceous materials are solubilized to an unexpectedly high degree by contacting them with solvent/solute systems, such as phenolic recycle solvents containing alkali or alkaline-earth metal constituents.

Abstract: There is disclosed a process for removing tar bases and neutral oils from the Lurgi tar acids by treating the tar acids with aqueous sodium bisulfate to change the tar bases to salts and to hydrolyze the neutral oils to hydrolysis products and distilling the tar acids to obtain refined tar acid as the distillate while the tar base salts and neutral oil hydrolysis products remain as residue.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for purifying the tar acid mixture that is obtained from the Lurgi process of coal gasification. The tar acid is treated with dilute aqueous sulfuric acid solution to form non-volatile tar base salts from the tar base component and to hydrolyze the neutral oil component and then distilling the tar acid component off from the non-volatile tar base salts and the hydrolysis products of the neutral oil component.

Abstract: Properties of phenol-containing hydrocarbonaceous streams are improved by first treating the stream with a C.sub.1 to C.sub.10 alcohol and an acid. If enough alcohol and acid are employed, two liquid phases are formed, an alcohol/acid phase and a hydrocarbonaceous phase. The alcohol/acid phase, which now contains phenols, can be separated and contacted with a C.sub.1 to C.sub.16 olefin or the olefin can be added in situ. In any case, oxygen-alkylation of the phenolic groups occurs.

Abstract: A method for separating phenols from phenol-containing streams and converting them to ethers by: (a) contacting the phenol-containing stream with a multivalent metal composition capable of forming hydroxy metal phenates with the phenols from the stream; (b) separating the hydroxy metal phenate from the stream; and (c) reacting the hydroxy metal phenate with one or more quaternary Group VA compounds represented by the formula R.sub.3 R'MOR" or R.sub.3 R'MX.

Abstract: Sub-divided coal is extracted under non-thermally destructive conditions with a solvent liquid containing a compound having the general formula: ##STR1## where M is a carbon, sulfur, or phosphorus atom,R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are each a hydrogen atom or a lower alkyl group,R and R.sup.1 are each a lower alkyl group, another ##STR2## a monocyclic aromatic group, or R.sup.1 can be another ##STR3## or R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 together can represent the atoms necessary to close a heterocyclic ring, andn=1 where M=phosphorus and is otherwise 0,to substantially remove the non-fixed carbon content of the coal, leaving a solid residue of the fixed coal carbon, ash and non-extractable matter.

Abstract: Process for removing phenols from phenol-containing streams such as coal liquids by contacting the stream with a multivalent metal composition selected from the group consisting of oxides and/or hydroxides of one or more multivalent metals capable of forming a hydroxy metal phenate with the phenols of the stream; separating the hydroxy metal phenate from the treated stream; and heating the hydroxy metal phenate to its decomposition temperature, thereby forming phenols and oxides of the multivalent metal.

Abstract: Gas condensates formed from the gases obtained from coal gasification, cokefication, or carbonization are extracted with an acid- and alkali-resistant solvent, e.g. organic esters or ethers, and phenols are thereby removed. The extract is separated into solvent and phenolic phases and the solvent is recycled to the extraction process. The same solvent is used in a greater quantity for a second stage treatment of the gas condensate to preferentially remove tar bases and again the solvent and tar base phases are separated with recycling of the solvent. Residual solvent, acid gases and other volatile components are removed from the gas condensate by distillation and/or stripping with the ammonia and acid gases being separately recovered. The gas condensate is thereafter subjected to biological cleaning, e.g. by a biological oxidation.

Abstract: A process is provided for extracting phenol from phenol-water mixtures using a hydrocarbon-extracting medium having an improved extraction coefficient. The extracting medium comprises a mixture of a hydrocarbon component containing at least a substantial amount of an aromatic hydrocarbon for example benzene, and a ketone component, for example 2-butanone.