Process for making isooctenes from aqueous isobutanol

摘要

The present invention relates to a catalytic process for making isooctenes using a reactant comprising isobutanol and water. The isooctenes so produced are useful for the production of fuel additives.

主权项

1. A process for production of a recovered isooctene from renewable sources comprising:
(a) providing a feedstock derived from a renewable source to a recombinantly engineered microorganism; (b) fermenting the feedstock with the recombinantly engineered microorganism, thereby forming isobutanol; (c) recovering at least a portion of the isobutanol; (d) contacting at least a portion of the recovered isobutanol with an acid catalyst in the presence of water to produce a first reaction product that comprises at least one isooctene, wherein the recombinantly engineered microorganism is engineered to express a biosynthetic pathway comprising substrate to product conversions that include:
pyruvate to acetolactate;acetolactate to 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate;2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate;α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde; andisobutyraldehyde to the isobutanol.