Process for carrying out pre-hydrolysis of a biomass

• US 20050161038A1
• Filed: 03/15/2005
• Published: 07/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alvaro Guedes Soares, Daltro Garcia Pinatti
• Original Assignee: Alvaro Guedes Soares, Daltro Garcia Pinatti
• Inventors: Soares, Alvaro Guedes, Pinatti, Daltro Garcia
• Granted Patent: US 7,238,242 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 127/2
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/0073 Sealings sealings for pressure vessels per se F16J15/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/02 Apparatus characterised by being constructed of material selected for its chemically-resistant properties
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/285 Shaking or vibrating reactors; reactions under the influence of low-frequency vibrations or pulsations for sonic and ultrasonic vibrations B01J19/10
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00256 Leakage
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0236 Metal based
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0286 Steel
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 1/02 obtained by saccharification of cellulosic materials manufacture of fodder A23K10/32
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 13/002 Xylose
• 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

Abstract

A process wherein biomass is compacted at 300 kg/m³ by a helical feeder, degassed, flooded, heated, stirred, and pre-hydrolyzed. The sugar being recovered at a first washing within the reactor with values higher than 90%. The control of the process enables one to produce cellulignin with a high specific surface, 2 m²/g (measured by BET), compared with the value of 0.4 m²/g of non-hydrolyzed biomass, maintain crystallinity of the cellulose fibers, aiming at grinding it into fine particles (f<250 mm), globulizing the lignin, exposing the cellulose to attacks by micro-organisms from cud of ruminants, fungi, bacteria or enzymes in microbiological or enzymatic fermentation.

Claims

1-25. -25. (canceled)

26. A biomass pre-hydrolysis process comprising the following steps:

a) discharging of the biomass into the helical feeder;

b) transferring the biomass from the helical feeder to a pre-hydrolysis device;

c) starting, in the biomass pre-hydrolysis device, the operation of pressurization, which comprises the following steps;

c.1) flooding the biomass pre-hydrolysis device with a pre-heated acidic solution;

c.2) heating; and

c.3) pressurizing;

d) said process wherein the pre-hydrolysis is carried out simultaneously with the rotary oscillation of the biomass pre-hydrolysis apparatus, purging of the steam and controlling of temperature, pressure, acid content, time of pre-hydrolysis, and liquid/solid ratio; and

e) accompanying the sugar content up to a value close to 10 Brix by means of a sugar meter.

27. The process according to claim 26, wherein the filling of the biomass pre-hydrolysis device is carried out by compacting the biomass in the pre-hydrolysis device.

28. The process according to claim 26, wherein the feeding of the biomass pre-hydrolysis device is effected until the beginning of compaction, so as to achieve a density of up to 300 kg/m³.

29. The process according to claim 26, wherein the purging of steam from the pre-hydrolysis device maintains the internal temperature around 150°

C.-170°

C.

30. The process according to claim 26, wherein the purging of steam from the pre-hydrolysis device maintains the temperature preferably around 160°

C.

31. The process according to claim 26, wherein the pre-hydrolysis is effected during about 30 minutes simultaneously with oscillation of the pre-hydrolysis device and purging of steam.

32. The process according to claim 26, wherein the flooding of the biomass pre-hydrolysis device is made with an acidic solution corresponding to 1.7% of the biomass, said acid solution is pre-heated up to approximately 80°

C. and injected into the pre-hydrolysis device in the liquid/solid ratio=2.

33. The process according to claim 26, wherein the degassing and heating of biomass and acid solution is between 150°

C. and 170°

C., preferably 160°

C., and pressurization of about 0.62 MPa by means of passing steam.

34. The process according to claim 33, wherein the heat of the escape steam in the degasing is recovered in the heat exchanger by the acidic solution to be used in the following reaction.

35. The process according to claim 26, wherein, in the final step, there is production of a solid material constituted by crystalline cellulose and globulized lignin, called cellulignin and a sugar solution, called pre-hidrolysate.

36. The process according to claim 26, wherein it further comprises the step of using normal water for producing normal cellulignin and water deionized in the process for producing clean cellulignin.

37. The process according to claim 26, wherein, after the discharge of the pre-hydrolysdate, a washing step is carried out in the cellulignin in the proportion of liquid/solid ratio=1 in order to recover the sugar contained in the cellulignin.

38. The process according to claim 37, wherein the reducing of inorganic impurities is carried out in a step of washing the cellulignin in mechanical washers.

39. The process according to claim 37, wherein the washing step of the cellulignin is carried out by means of percolation.