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US 11,891,646 B2Granted
Bioprocess and microbe engineering for total carbon utilization in biofuel production
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorGregory Stephanopoulos
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Some aspects of this invention provide methods and bioreactors for converting a carbon source into a lipid. In some embodiments, lipid production is carried out in an aerobic fermentor and carbon dioxide generated during lipid production is converted into a carbon substrate by CO2 fixation in an anaerobic fermentor. In some embodiments, the carbon substrate generated by CO2 fixation is used as the carbon source for lipid production, thus achieving total carbon utilization in lipid production.
Claims18
A method comprising
- (a) culturing in a liquid medium a first organism in the presence of a carbon source under aerobic conditions suitable for the first organism to oxidize the carbon source, wherein the conditions are oxidizing conditions, wherein the first organism produces CO2 as part of the oxidation process;
- and
- (b) culturing in a liquid medium a second organism in the presence of CO2 produced in (a) under anaerobic conditions suitable for the second organism to reduce the CO2, wherein the conditions are reducing conditions, wherein the second organism produces a carbon substrate as part of the reduction process;
- wherein the culturing of (a) and of (b) is carried out in separate fermenters;
- and
- wherein the carbon substrate produced in (b) is used as a carbon source by the organism of (a).
3 more elements
A method of producing lipids comprising:
- providing CO2 to a first organism in an anaerobic fermentor, wherein the first organism converts the CO2 to a carbon substrate;
- removing the carbon substrate from the anaerobic fermentor;
- and
- providing the carbon substrate to a second organism in an aerobic fermentor, wherein the second organism converts the carbon substrate to a lipid or a precursor thereof and CO2;
- wherein the anaerobic fermentor and the aerobic fermentor are separate fermentors.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.