Method and bioreactor for producing synfuel from carbonaceous material
AssigneeGeoSynFuels, LLC
InventorWilliam J. Kohr
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of producing fuel from biodegradable carbonaceous material using a stacked particle bioreactor is provided. A stacked particle bioreactor is formed from particles including biodegradable carbonaceous material. The biodegradable carbonaceous material in the stacked particle bioreactor is aerobically and/or anaerobically bioconverted into one or more synfuels, which are collected from the reactor. The synfuels produced by the method may include synthetic petroleum, alcohol, and/or a gaseous fuel containing methane. Preferably the method includes an aerobic biotreatment phase followed by an anaerobic bioconversion phase. A stacked particle bioreactor for carrying out the anaerobic, and preferably aerobic, degradation is also described.
Claims24
A method for producing liquid and gaseous synfuel from carbonaceous material, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming a solid state stacked particle bioreactor with a plurality of particles comprising biodegradable carbonaceous material, the solid state bioreactor having an inter-particle void volume, and the solid state stacked particle bioreactor including a drainage system configured to continuously drain liquid from the stacked particle bioreactor so that the stacked particles are not submerged in a liquid phase;
- inoculating the solid state stacked particle bioreactor with a culture comprising one or more aerobic and/or facultative anaerobic microorganisms capable of fermenting the carbonaceous material;
- fermenting the carbonaceous material in the solid state stacked particle bioreactor to produce alcohol;
- converting the environment within the solid state stacked particle bioreactor from an aerobic environment to an anaerobic environment;
- inoculating the solid state stacked particle bioreactor with a culture comprising one or more anaerobic microorganisms;
- anaerobically bioconverting fermentation products in the stacked particle bioreactor to gaseous synfuel;
- and
- collecting alcohol and gaseous synfuel from the solid state stacked particle bioreactor.
A method for producing both liquid and gaseous synfuel from carbonaceous material, the method comprising the steps of:
- forming a solid state bioreactor with a plurality of particles comprising biodegradable carbonaceous material, an inoculum comprising one or more aerobic and/or facultative anaerobic microorganisms, and inert substrates, the solid state bioreactor having an inter-particle void volume, and the solid state stacked particle bioreactor including a drainage system configured to continuously drain liquid from the stacked particle bioreactor so that the stacked particles are not submerged in a liquid phase;
- fermenting the carbonaceous material within the solid state bioreactor with the aerobic microbial consortium to produce fermentation products comprising alcohol;
- providing an anaerobic environment within the solid state bioreactor following the fermentation;
- and
- anaerobically bioconverting fermentation products to gaseous synfuel, wherein the substrates maintain the inter-particle void volume during the fermentation and anaerobic bioconversion steps above a predetermined level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.