Process for restricting carbon monoxide dissolution in a syngas fermentation
OwnerJames Allen Zahn, Seth William Fischbeininventors
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Abstract
A process to temporarily and selectively control the dissolved concentration of CO in the feed medium portion of a fermentation liquid by addition of a surface tension active compound (STAC), particularly during seed train scale-up operations and during recovery from process upsets, to support improved production of biofuels from a syngas fermentation. The process inoculates the fermentation liquid when the cell density level is from 0.05 to 0.5 OD with the surface tension active compound at a concentration of from 20 to 800 mg per liter of syngas fermentation liquid. The surface tension active compound may be a polyol or glycol.
Claims31
A process for restricting carbon monoxide dissolution into a syngas fermentation liquid in a vessel during the feed phases of production of biofuels where at least 2 mg of carbon monoxide per liter of syngas fermentation liquid are present, said process comprising the steps of:
- passing a feed gas stream comprising CO, H2, and CO2 through the syngas fermentation liquid,
- monitoring the cell density level of the syngas fermentation liquid, and
- when the cell density level is from 0.05 to 0.5 OD, inoculating the fermentation liquid with a surface tension active compound at a concentration of from 20 to 800 mg per liter of syngas fermentation liquid.
A process for restricting carbon monoxide dissolution into a syngas fermentation liquid in a vessel during the feed phases of production of biofuels where at least 2 mg of carbon monoxide per liter of syngas fermentation liquid are present, said process comprising the steps of:
- passing a feed gas stream comprising CO, H2, and CO2 through the fermentation liquid,
- monitoring the level of hydrogenase activity of cells in the fermentation liquid, either via measurement of H2 uptake in mmol/L/hour or via measurement of H2 conversion as a percentage of mass, and
- inoculating the fermentation liquid to a concentration of from 20 to 800 mg per liter of fermentation liquid with a surface tension active compound when either the H2 uptake level decreases by thirty (30) percent or more over a 48 hour period or the H2 conversion as a percent of mass is from zero to twenty-five (25) percent.
A process for restricting carbon monoxide dissolution into a syngas fermentation liquid in a vessel during recovery from a process upset where at least 2 mg of carbon monoxide per liter of fermentation liquid are present, said process comprising the steps of:
- passing a feed gas stream comprising CO, H2, and CO2 through the fermentation liquid,
- monitoring the level of hydrogenase activity of the cells in the fermentation liquid, either via measurement of H2 uptake in mmol/L/hour or via measurement of H2 conversion as a percentage of mass, and
- inoculating the broth fraction of the syngas fermentation liquid with from 10 to 400 mg per liter of broth per day of a surface tension active compound when either the H2 uptake level decreases by thirty (30) percent or more over a 48 hour period or the H2 conversion as a percent of mass is from zero to twenty-five (25) percent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.