US 7,608,439 B2 · Bio-recycling of carbon dioxide emitted from power plants

Abstract

The invention provides a method to decrease emission of carbon dioxide from combustion of fossil fuels or other hydrocarbons and to enhance the efficiency of methane production from anaerobic biodigesters. The invention involves feeding carbon dioxide from the exhaust gas of hydrocarbon fuel combustion to an anaerobic biodigester where biomass is anaerobically fermented to produce methane. Carbon dioxide is an electron acceptor for anaerobic fermentation, and thus some of the carbon dioxide is reduced to methane, which can again be used for fuel. In this way, at least a portion of the exhaust gas CO2 is recycled to form fuel methane instead of being released into the atmosphere. Thus, the net CO2 emission from burning a given amount of fossil fuel is decreased. Adding carbon dioxide to an anaerobic fermentation also increases the efficiency and amount of methane production in the fermentation.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A method of producing methane comprising:

collecting combustion exhaust gas from a hydrocarbon fuel combustion process;
separating O2 from CO2 in the exhaust gas to generate a CO2-rich anaerobic exhaust gas fraction;
feeding the CO2-rich anaerobic exhaust gas fraction to a fermentation mixture containing methanogenic microorganisms;
feeding a reduced substrate selected from the group consisting of H2 and organic material and a combination thereof, to the fermentation mixture;
and
producing a biogas comprising methane in the fermentation mixture by the anaerobic fermentation of methanogenic microorganisms;
wherein feeding the CO2-rich anaerobic exhaust gas fraction to the fermentation mixture increases methane production in the fermentation mixture.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Bio-recycling of carbon dioxide emitted from power plants

Life of this patent

Bio-recycling of carbon dioxide emitted from power plants

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims8