CATALYTIC BIOREACTORS AND METHODS OF USING SAME

• US 20140187826A1
• Filed: 03/06/2014
• Published: 07/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Board of Trustees of Michigan State University (Michigan State University)
• Original Assignee: The Board of Trustees of Michigan State University (Michigan State University)
• Inventors: WORDEN, Robert Mark, LIU, Yangmu Chloe
• Granted Patent: US 9,714,404 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 568/840
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 21/12 for producing fuels or solvents C12M21/04 takes precedence; liquid carbonaceous fuels C10L1/00, solid fuels C10L5/00
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 23/34 Internal compartments or partitions
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 25/12 the culture medium flowing outside the fiber or tube
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/16 Butanols
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel

Abstract

Various embodiments provide a bioreactor for producing a bioproduct comprising a housing; and one or more catalytically active zones located in the housing and adapted to keep two incompatible gaseous reactants separated when in a gas phase, wherein each of said catalytically active zone comprises a catalytic component retainer and a catalytic component retained within and/or on the catalytic component retainer. Each of said catalytically active zones may additionally or alternatively comprise a liquid medium located on either side of the catalytic component retainer and the catalytic component may additionally or alternatively be a suspended catalytic component suspended in a liquid medium located on either side of the catalytic component retainer. Methods of using various embodiments of the bioreactor to produce a bioproduct, such as isobutanol, are also provided.

Claims

1. A bioreactor for producing a bioproduct comprising:

a housing; and

one or more catalytically active zones located in the housing and adapted to keep two incompatible gaseous reactants separated when in the gas phase, wherein each of said catalytically active zone comprises a catalytic component retainer and a catalytic component retained within and/or on the catalytic component retainer.

2. The bioreactor of claim 1 wherein each of said catalytically active zones additionally or alternatively comprises a liquid medium located on either side of the catalytic component retainer and the catalytic component additionally or alternatively includes a suspended catalytic component suspended in the liquid medium.

3. The bioreactor of claim 2 wherein a majority of the catalytic component is a suspended catalytic component.

4. The bioreactor of claim 1 wherein the liquid medium is adapted to contain a first gaseous reactant in a form consumable by the catalytic component, and a gaseous medium on an opposing side of the catalytic component retainer is adapted to contain a second gaseous reactant in a form consumable by the catalytic component, wherein the gaseous medium and/or the liquid medium are further adapted to contain a carbon source useful for fermentation.

5. The bioreactor of claim 4 wherein the fermentation is selected from autotrophic fermentation, heterotrophic fermentation or methanotrophic fermentation.

6. The bioreactor of claim 5 wherein the catalytic component retainer comprises one or more porous fiber walls, the catalytic component comprises one or more cells and the bioreactor further comprises a shell area outside the one or more porous fiber walls, wherein each of the one or more porous fiber walls form a hollow fiber which can contain the liquid medium or the gaseous medium therein.

7. The bioreactor of claim 6 further comprising:

a cell source to provide the cell to the one or more porous fiber walls for inoculation; and

a carbon source to support growth of the cell on the one or more porous fiber walls.

8. The bioreactor of claim 7 wherein the carbon source is a heterotrophic carbon source and the cell source is a microbial cell culture.

9. The bioreactor of claim 7 wherein the microbial cell culture is Ralstonia eutropha.

10. The bioreactor of claim 7 further comprising:

a first incompatible gaseous reactant source to provide the first incompatible gaseous reactant to the bioreactor in the liquid medium; and

a second incompatible gaseous reactant source to provide the second gaseous reactant to the bioreactor in the gaseous medium.

11. The bioreactor of claim 10 wherein the liquid medium and gaseous medium comprise autotrophic production mediums and the method further comprises a separating system for separating the bioproduct from the autotrophic production mediums.

12. The bioreactor of claim 10 wherein the gaseous medium comprises methane.

13. The bioreactor of claim 10 wherein the first and second incompatible gaseous reactants have low aqueous solubility and the bioreactor further comprises a mass transport enhancer capable of enhancing gas-to-liquid mass transfer of the first and/or second incompatible gaseous reactants into the liquid medium.

14. The bioreactor of claim 10 wherein the mass transport enhancer is a bubble generator adapted to generate bubbles in the liquid medium in order to incorporate the first gaseous reactant therein, a bioreactor configuration which allows the catalytically active zone to remain in direct contact with at least one of the incompatible gaseous reactants during operation, or both.

15. The bioreactor of claim 14 wherein each hollow fiber has an inner diameter and the liquid medium is adapted to flow inside each hollow fiber, wherein most of the bubbles have a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of each hollow fiber.

16. The bioreactor of claim 15 wherein the gaseous bubbles are gaseous microbubbles.

17. The bioreactor of claim 10 wherein the gaseous medium contains hydrogen and carbon dioxide, the second gaseous reactant is oxygen and the bioproduct is isobutanol.

18. The bioreactor of claim 10 wherein the gaseous medium contains hydrogen, the second gaseous reactant is oxygen and carbon dioxide and the bioproduct is isobutanol.

19. The bioreactor of claim 10 further comprising a monitoring and control system in communication with the bioreactor.

23. The method of claim 10 wherein the carbon source is provided to the second side of the catalytically active medium.

20. A method of producing a bioproduct comprising:

separating first and second incompatible gaseous reactants in a bioreactor containing a plurality of catalytically active zones, each catalytically active zone comprising a catalytic component retainer and a catalytic component retained within and/or on the catalytic component retainer;

at least partially dissolving a first incompatible gaseous reactant in a liquid medium in contact with a first side of the catalytic component retainer to produce a first compatible reactant;

providing a second incompatible gaseous reactant in a gaseous medium to a second side of the catalytic component retainer for consumption by the catalytic component to produce a second compatible reactant;

providing a carbon source to at least one side of the catalytic component retainer to support growth of the catalytic component on and/or in the catalytic component retainer; and

allowing transport of the first and second compatible reactants in opposing directions through the catalytic component retainer wherein a reaction occurs with the catalytic component to form a bioproduct.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein each catalytically active zone additionally or alternatively comprises a liquid medium located on either side of the catalytic component retainer and the catalytic component additionally or alternatively includes a suspended catalytic component suspended in the liquid medium.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein a majority of the catalytic component is a suspended catalytic component.

24. The method of claim 20 wherein the catalytic component retainer is a hollow fiber and the catalytic component is introduced into the hollow fiber by an inside-out filtration-type inoculation.

25. The method of claim 20 wherein the carbon source is an autotrophic carbon source and the catalytic component is a microbial cell culture.

26. The method of claim 20 wherein the first incompatible gaseous component contains hydrogen and carbon dioxide, the second incompatible gaseous component contains oxygen, and the bioproduct is a C1-C6 alcohol.

27. The method of claim 20 wherein the first incompatible gaseous component contains hydrogen, the second incompatible gaseous component contains oxygen and carbon dioxide, and the bioproduct is a C1-C6 alcohol.

28. The method of claim 20 wherein flow rates of the gaseous reactants are adjusted to minimize wastage and/or excessive accumulation of said gaseous reactants.

29. The method of claim 20 wherein the bioproduct is a C1-C6 alcohol

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the C1-C6 alcohol is isobutanol.

31. A product produced according to the method of claim 20.