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US 8,597,921 B2Granted
Processing biomass
AssigneeXyleco, Inc.
InventorMarshall Medoff
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Biomass (e.g., plant biomass, animal biomass, and municipal waste biomass) is processed to produce useful products, such as fuels. For example, systems are described that can use feedstock materials, such as cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic materials, to produce ethanol and/or butanol, e.g., by fermentation.
Claims14
A method comprising:
- irradiating a layer of lignocellulosic material with a series of doses of radiation, using more than one electron beam device, to deliver to the lignocellulosic material a total dose of radiation of at least 10 Mrad at a dose rate of from about 1 Mrad/s to 10 Mrad/s;
- cooling the irradiated lignocellulosic material using a heat exchange system comprising one or more heat exchangers after irradiating with each electron beam device;
- and
- hydrolyzing the irradiated and cooled material with an enzyme or microorganism to produce sugars;
- wherein during irradiating substantially none of the lignocellulosic material is wetted with a liquid.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.