Process for Fermentive Preparation of Alcohols and Recovery of Product

A process for preparing butanol in a fermentation broth in a fermentor, comprising:

• (a) providing a liquid fermentation broth that is comprised of a carbohydrate substrate, nutrients and water in which an alcohol is produced by the growth of Lactobacillus or a recombinant Lactobacillus;
• (b) contacting at least one ionic liquid with the fermentation broth, or a portion thereof, to form from the resulting mixture an ionic liquid phase and an aqueous phase wherein the butanol, or a portion thereof, is more soluble in the ionic liquid phase than the aqueous phase;
• and
• (c) separating the butanol-rich ionic liquid phase from the aqueous phase;
• and, optionally, recovering the butanol from the ionic liquid phase;
• wherein the ionic liquid is comprised of (i) a cation selected from the group consisting of pyrrolidone-2-one and imidazolium, and (ii) an anion selected from the group consisting of levulinate, bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonamide and hexafluoropropanesulfonate.