Process for producing fuel using two fermentations

• US 10,202,622 B2
• Filed: 07/22/2015
• Issued: 02/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iogen Corporation
• Original Assignee: Iogen Corporation
• Inventors: Foody, Patrick J., Foody, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Sean C.
• Application Number:
  US15/327,348
• Publication Number:
  US 20170159078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,301 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 3/001 Processes specially adapted for distillation or rectification of fermented solutions
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0233 the reforming step being a steam reforming step
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0244 the reforming step being an autothermal reforming step, e.g. secondary reforming processes
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/025 containing a partial oxidation step
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0283 containing a CO-shift step, i.e. a water gas shift step
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0405 Purification by membrane separation
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/043 Regenerative adsorption process in two or more beds, one for adsorption, the other for regeneration
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0475 the impurity being carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/061 Methanol production
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/062 Hydrocarbon production, e.g. Fischer-Tropsch process
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/0872 Methods of cooling
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/1241 Natural gas or methane
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2203/148 involving a recycle stream to the feed of the process for making hydrogen or synthesis gas
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 3/38 using catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 3/48 followed by reaction of water vapour with carbon monoxide
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 3/50 Separation of hydrogen or hydrogen containing gases from gaseous mixtures, e.g. purification C01B3/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 32/50 Carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 29/1518 one step being the formation of initial mixture of carbon oxides and hydrogen for synthesis
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 31/04 Methanol
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 31/08 Ethanol
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 2/50 : from carbon dioxide with hydrogen
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 2400/02 : Gasoline
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/02 : essentially based on components consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/023 : for spark ignition
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/04 : essentially based on blends of hydrocarbons
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/06 : for spark ignition
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/10 : Recycling of a stream within the process or apparatus to reuse elsewhere therein
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/26 : Composting, fermenting or anaerobic digestion fuel components or materials from which fuels are prepared
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/42 : Fischer-Tropsch steps
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/542 : Adsorption of impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/543 : Distillation, fractionation or rectification for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/545 : Washing, scrubbing, stripping, scavenging for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 3/00 : Gaseous fuels; Natural gas; Synthetic natural gas obtained by processes not covered by subclass C10G, C10K; Liquefied petroleum gas
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 3/08 : Production of synthetic natural gas
• CPC Class Codes: C12F 3/10 : from distillery slops
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 5/00 : Preparation of hydrocarbons or halogenated hydrocarbons
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 5/023 : Methane
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/06 : Ethanol, i.e. non-beverage
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/065 : with microorganisms other than yeasts
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/10 : substrate containing cellulosic material
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/14 : Multiple stages of fermentation; Multiple types of microorganisms or re-use of microorganisms
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/54 : Acetic acid vinegar C12J
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 : Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/30 : Fuel from waste, e.g. synthetic alcohol or diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/10 : Process efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/133 : Renewable energy sources, e.g. sunlight
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/145 : the feedstock being materials of biological origin
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 30/00 : Technologies relating to oil refining and petrochemical industry

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.

Claims

1. A process for producing a fermentation product comprising:

introducing a first substrate to a first fermentation unit to produce a first fermentation product, the first substrate comprising at least one compound selected from the group consisting of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen;

introducing a second substrate to a second fermentation unit to produce a second fermentation product, the second substrate comprising at least one carbohydrate derived from organic material in one or more processing steps, the first fermentation product the same as the second fermentation product;

feeding an aqueous stream comprising the first fermentation product to a stage in the process such that at least a portion of the first fermentation product produced in the first fermentation unit enters the second fermentation unit; and

recovering at least a portion of the first fermentation product produced in the first fermentation unit and at least a portion of the second fermentation product produced in the second fermentation unit from the effluent of the second fermentation unit to provide the fermentation product.

2. The process according to claim 1, wherein a concentration of the fermentation product in the effluent of the second fermentation unit is at least about 25 g/L higher than a concentration of the first fermentation product in effluent of the first fermentation unit.

3. The process according to claim 2, wherein the fermentation product is ethanol, and wherein a microorganism provided in the second fermentation unit has a higher tolerance to ethanol than a microorganism provided in the first fermentation unit.

4. The process according to claim 3, comprising adding water to the first fermentation unit, the water obtained from the effluent of the second fermentation unit.

5. The process according to claim 1, wherein feeding the aqueous stream comprising the first fermentation product to a stage in the process comprises combining the aqueous stream with a stream comprising solids.

6. The process according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises biogenic syngas.

7. The process according to claim 6, wherein the biogenic syngas is produced from biogas from an anaerobic digestion, from biomass subjected to a thermal process, or a combination thereof.

8. The process according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises carbon monoxide.

9. The process according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas.

10. The process according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises biogenic carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas sourced from fossil fuel.

11. The process according to claim 10, wherein recovering the fermentation product from the effluent of the second fermentation unit comprises distilling the effluent of the second fermentation unit, and wherein the biogenic carbon dioxide is sourced from one of an anaerobic digestion of the still bottoms produced by the distillation and biogenic carbon dioxide generated in the second fermentation unit.

12. The process according to claim 10, wherein energy generated from the production of the hydrogen gas is used within the process.

13. The process according to claim 1, wherein exhaust gas from the first fermentation unit is used to provide energy for the process.

14. The process according to claim 1, wherein exhaust gas is fed to an anaerobic digestion to produce crude biogas, wherein at least a portion of the biogenic carbon dioxide in the crude biogas is removed, and wherein methane from the crude biogas is used to provide the energy for the process, to produce a transportation fuel, or a combination thereof.

15. The process according to claim 14, wherein the portion of the biogenic carbon dioxide removed is fed to the first fermentation unit.

16. The process according to claim 1, wherein the fermentation product is a fuel or fuel intermediate.

17. The process according to claim 16, comprising generating or causing the generation of a biofuel credit for the recovered fermentation product.

18. The process according to claim 2, comprising removing cells from the effluent of the first fermentation unit to provide the aqueous stream, and comprising introducing a stream comprising the removed cells to the first fermentation unit.

19. The process according to claim 1, wherein the fermentation product is selected from the group consisting of ethanol and butanol.

20. The process according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises a carbon monoxide-rich waste gas stream from another process.

21. The process according to claim 1, wherein the organic material is biomass, and wherein the one or more processing steps include at least one of pretreatment and hydrolysis.

22. The process according to claim 1, wherein the second fermentation unit comprises a series of bioreactors.

23. The process according to claim 3, wherein the microorganism in the first fermentation unit comprises a bacteria from a genus selected from Acetogenium, Acetobacterium, Acetoanaerobium, Butyribacterium and Clostridium, and wherein the microorganism in the second fermentation unit comprises a yeast.

24. The process according to claim 23, wherein the bacteria comprises Clostridium ljungdahlii.

25. The process according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises hydrogen, and wherein energy generated from the production of the hydrogen is used within the process.

35. The process according to claim 23, wherein the yeast comprises Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

26. A process for producing ethanol comprising:

introducing a first substrate to a first fermentation unit to produce a broth including ethanol, the first substrate comprising at least one compound selected from the group consisting of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen;

removing cells from at least a portion of the broth to provide an aqueous stream comprising ethanol;

introducing a second substrate to a second fermentation unit to produce a broth including ethanol, the second substrate comprising at least one carbohydrate derived from organic material in one or more processing steps;

introducing at least a portion of the aqueous stream comprising ethanol to the process such that at least a portion of the ethanol in the aqueous stream enters the second fermentation unit, and such that a concentration of ethanol exiting the second fermentation unit is greater than a concentration of ethanol in the aqueous stream; and

recovering ethanol from the second fermentation unit, wherein the recovered ethanol comprises ethanol produced in the first and second fermentation units.

27. The process according to claim 26, wherein the concentration of ethanol in the aqueous stream is between about 15 g/L and about 35 g/L.

28. The process according to claim 26, wherein recovering the fermentation product from the effluent of the second fermentation unit comprises distilling the effluent of the second fermentation unit, and wherein water from the still bottoms of the distillation is recycled to the first fermentation unit.

29. A process for producing a fermentation product comprising:

fermenting at least one gas in a gas fermentation to produce a first fermentation product, the at least one gas comprising at least one of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen;

fermenting at least one carbohydrate in a carbohydrate fermentation to produce a second fermentation product, the second fermentation product the same as the first fermentation product, the at least one carbohydrate derived from organic material processed in one or more processing steps and comprising a sugar, a starch, or a combination thereof;

combining an aqueous stream comprising the first fermentation product and originating from the gas fermentation with a stream comprising the carbohydrate, the organic material, processed organic material, or a combination thereof such that at least a portion of the first fermentation product produced in the gas fermentation is fed to the carbohydrate fermentation; and

recovering the first fermentation product produced in the gas fermentation and the second fermentation product produced in the carbohydrate fermentation from the carbohydrate fermentation,

wherein the aqueous stream is fed to a stage of the process requiring an addition of water.

30. A process for producing ethanol comprising:

conducting a gas fermentation that includes introducing at least one gas selected from the group consisting of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen gas to a gas fermentation unit;

feeding a gas stream comprising biogenic carbon dioxide to the gas fermentation unit, the biogenic carbon dioxide sourced from an ethanol production process, the ethanol production process comprising a carbohydrate fermentation that includes introducing at least one carbohydrate to a carbohydrate fermentation unit; and

providing an aqueous stream comprising ethanol produced from the gas fermentation or derived from an intermediate produced by the gas fermentation for introduction into the ethanol production process at a stage that allows at least a portion of the ethanol in the aqueous stream to enter the carbohydrate fermentation unit.

31. A process for producing ethanol comprising:

receiving an aqueous stream comprising ethanol derived from gas fermentation of biogenic carbon dioxide;

introducing at least a portion of the aqueous stream into an ethanol production process such that at least a portion of the ethanol in the aqueous stream enters a carbohydrate fermentation;

providing biogenic carbon dioxide generated in the ethanol production process to a production plant for introduction into the gas fermentation; and

recovering ethanol from the carbohydrate fermentation, the recovered ethanol including at least a portion of the ethanol derived from the gas fermentation unit and ethanol produced in the carbohydrate fermentation.

32. The process according to claim 31, wherein recovering ethanol from the carbohydrate fermentation comprises distilling at least a portion of effluent from the carbohydrate fermentation, and wherein the process comprises providing at least one of still bottoms and treated still bottoms to the production plant for water recycle into the gas fermentation.

33. A process for producing ethanol comprising:

receiving biogenic carbon dioxide generated in an ethanol production process;

introducing the biogenic carbon dioxide into a gas fermentation unit and producing ethanol derived from the biogenic carbon dioxide;

providing an aqueous stream comprising the ethanol derived from the biogenic carbon dioxide to the ethanol production process, the aqueous stream for introduction into the ethanol production process such that at least a portion of the ethanol in the aqueous stream enters a carbohydrate fermentation unit for producing ethanol derived from at least one carbohydrate introduced into the carbohydrate fermentation unit, the ethanol production process including a step of recovering ethanol from the carbohydrate fermentation unit, the recovered ethanol including ethanol derived from the biogenic carbon dioxide introduced into the gas fermentation unit and ethanol derived from the at least one carbohydrate introduced into the carbohydrate fermentation unit.

34. The process according to claim 33, wherein the step of recovering ethanol from the carbohydrate fermentation unit comprises distilling at least a portion of effluent from the carbohydrate fermentation reactor, and wherein the process comprises receiving at least one of still bottoms and treated still bottoms for water recycle into the gas fermentation unit.