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US 8,476,060 B2Granted
Process for separating lipids from a biomass
AssigneeBoard of Regents, The University of Texas System
InventorsRussell Chianelli, Calvin Hildebrand, Joaquin Rodriguez
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Abstract
A novel low cost separation process for separating lipid oil from an algal biomass for biofuel production is described herein. The process of the present invention comprises of two steps: (i) breaking the algae cells and (ii) separation of the lipid oils from the broken cells. The separated lipids are extracted by conventional techniques followed by conversion to a biofuel.
Claims11
A process for lysing one or more microalgal cells, wherein the lysis results in an extraction of one or more algal lipids, comprising the steps of:
- cultivating a hydrocarbon or a lipid-producing microalgae in a growth media, wherein the cultivation is carried out under one or more growth conditions comprising sunlight, nutrients, water, and CO2;
- exposing the microalgae to low energy soundwaves in a sonicating device to produce a homogenous algal slurry comprising broken algal cells, algal lipids, and the growth media, wherein the homogeneous algal slurry comprises a lipid/oil top layer, a green layer comprising lysed microalgal cells, and a clear water layer;
- extracting one or more algal lipids from the homogenous algal slurry by a chemical treatment, wherein the chemical treatment may include, but is not limited to the addition of heat, acid, and chemicals to break an oil/water emulsion;
- exposing the homogeneous algal slurry to low energy soundwaves in the sonicating device to break the oil/water emulsion, wherein the exposure of the homogeneous algal slurry to low energy soundwaves is an optional treatment step;
- and
- extracting of the one or more algal lipids.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.