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US 12,371,721 B2Granted
Methods of recovering oil from microorganisms
AssigneeMara Renewables Corporation
InventorsDorothy A. Dennis, Roberto E. Armenta
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Abstract
Provided herein are methods of recovering oil from microorganisms. The methods are useful, for example, in obtaining nutritional oils and/or lipid biofuels. The methods of recovering oil described herein include contacting a population of microorganisms with one or more enzymes under conditions that cause disruption of the microorganisms, concentrating the disrupted microorganisms, and extracting lipids from the disrupted microorganisms at high temperature in the presence of a salt and in the absence of solvent.
Claims25
A method of recovering oil from oil-producing microorganisms comprising
- (a) culturing the microorganisms in an aqueous fermentation medium comprising aqueous components;
- (b) contacting the microorganisms in the aqueous fermentation medium with an enzyme under conditions that causes enzymatic hydrolysis of the microorganisms, wherein the hydrolyzed microorganisms comprise the oil;
- (c) separating the hydrolyzed microorganisms comprising the oil from the aqueous fermentation medium;
- (d) extracting the oil from the separated hydrolyzed microorganisms of step (c) in the absence of an organic solvent, wherein extraction separates the oil from the hydrolyzed microorganisms;
- and
- (e) recovering the oil of step (d).
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.