Patent ID: 7960520

Claim:
A process for preparing solid biomass for slurry processing comprising: adding an organic solvent to solubilize and disperse the solid biomass that comprises lignocellulose material comprising lignin and cellulose; adding a second less volatile dispersion agent, thereby creating a dispersed lignocellulose phase comprising solid particles of biomass suspended in a liquid organic solvent; adding water to the dispersed lignocellulose phase to solubilize oxygenates and further disperse polar organic compounds; and deoxygenating the dispersed lignocellulose phase, without separation of the dispersed lignocellulose phase, by contacting the lignocellulose material with an undissolved solid catalyst in a slurry reactor at reaction conditions to break apart the biopolymers in the dispersed phase, thereby creating a deoxygenated organic phase at a temperature of from about 300° C. to about 450° C., wherein the undissolved solid catalyst comprises material selected from the group consisting of alumina, zeolite, Cr, Mo, W, Ni, Pd, Pt, metal sulfides, and mixtures thereof.