Patent ID: 8193400

Claim:
A process for producing a branched-paraffin-enriched diesel product from a renewable feedstock comprising; a) treating the feedstock in a first reaction zone by hydrogenating and deoxygenating the feedstock using a catalyst at reaction conditions in the presence of hydrogen to provide a first reaction zone product stream comprising hydrogen, water, carbon dioxide, and a hydrocarbon fraction comprising n-paraffins in the diesel boiling range; b) selectively separating, in a hot high pressure hydrogen stripper, a gaseous stream comprising at least a portion of the hydrogen, water, and carbon oxides from the first reaction zone product stream and a remainder stream comprising at least the n-paraffins; c) introducing the remainder stream to a second reaction zone to contact an isomerization catalyst at isomerization conditions to isomerize at least a portion of the n-paraffins and generate a branched paraffin-enriched stream; d) cooling the branched paraffin-enriched stream and the gaseous stream and separating a gaseous component comprising at least hydrogen and carbon dioxide from a liquid hydrocarbon component and a water component; e) separating the liquid hydrocarbon component into an LPG and naphtha stream and a diesel boiling range stream; and f) recycling, to a rectification zone in the hot high pressure hydrogen stripper, a stream selected from the group consisting of: i) at least a portion of the diesel boiling range stream; ii) at least a portion of the LPG and naphtha stream; iii) at least a portion of a naphtha stream generated by separating the LPG and naphtha stream into an LPG stream and the naphtha stream; iv) at least a portion of a LPG stream generated by separating the LPG and naphtha stream into an LPG stream and the naphtha stream; and v) combinations thereof.