Process for producing fuel using two fermentations
AssigneeIogen Corporation
InventorsPatrick J. Foody, Brian Foody
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A process is provided for forming a fuel or a fuel intermediate from two fermentations that includes feeding an aqueous solution comprising a fermentation product from a first bioreactor to a second bioreactor and/or a stage upstream of the second bioreactor, which also produces the fermentation product. The aqueous solution may be added at any stage of the second fermentation and/or processing steps upstream from the second bioreactor that would otherwise require the addition of water. Accordingly, the product yield is increased while fresh/treated water usage is decreased.
Claims21
1-34. (canceled)
A method for producing a fermentation product comprising:
- a) providing biomass;
- b) converting part of the biomass to the fermentation product in a first process, the first process comprising:
- releasing fermentable sugars from the biomass to produce a first mixture comprising the released fermentable sugars;
- subjecting at least the released fermentable sugars to a fermentation to produce a second mixture comprising the fermentation product;
- c) recovering the fermentation product from the second mixture to produce recovered fermentation product and still bottoms;
- d) subjecting the first mixture, the second mixture, the still bottoms, or a combination thereof to a solids-liquid separation to produce solids and liquid;
- e) converting another part of the biomass to the fermentation product in a second process, the second process comprising:
- subjecting at least the solids from the solids-liquid separation to a thermal process to produce syngas;
- subjecting one or more components of the syngas to a gas fermentation, the gas fermentation producing an aqueous solution comprising the fermentation product;
- and
- f) using at least part of the aqueous solution comprising the fermentation product produced from the second process in the first process such that the fermentation product from the first and second processes are recovered together.
A method for producing a fermentation product comprising:
- a) converting a first biomass to the fermentation product in a first process, the first process comprising:
- releasing fermentable sugars from the first biomass to produce a first mixture comprising the released fermentable sugars;
- subjecting at least the released fermentable sugars to a fermentation to produce a second mixture comprising the fermentation product;
- b) recovering the fermentation product from the second mixture to produce recovered fermentation product;
- c) converting a second biomass to the fermentation product in a second process, the second process comprising:
- subjecting the second biomass to a thermal process to produce syngas;
- subjecting one or more components of the syngas to a gas fermentation, the gas fermentation producing an aqueous solution comprising the fermentation product;
- and
- d) using at least part of the aqueous solution comprising the fermentation product produced from the second process in the first process such that the fermentation product from the first and second processes are recovered together.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.