Patent ID: 8367882

Claim:
A method of making a cyclic ether comprising: providing water and a biomass-derived water soluble oxygenated hydrocarbon selected from the group consisting of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignocellulosic derivatives, cellulosic derivatives, starches, monosaccharides, disaccharides, polysaccharides, sugars, sugar alcohols, butanediols, butanoic acid, tartaric acid, aldotetroses, aldopentoses, aldohexoses, ketotetroses, ketopentoses, ketohexoses, and a mixture thereof; catalytically reacting in the liquid and/or vapor phase the oxygenated hydrocarbon with hydrogen in the presence of a deoxygenation catalyst comprising a support and a member selected from the group consisting of Re, Cu, Ru, Pt, Pd, Ni, W, Mo, Ag, Zn, an alloy thereof, and a combination thereof, at a deoxygenation temperature in the range of about 80° C. to 300° C., and a deoxygenation pressure of between 72 psig and 1300 psig, to provide a reaction stream comprising water and one or more cyclic ethers.