METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PROCESSING A SUCROSE CROP AND SUGAR MIXTURES

• US 20180142314A1
• Filed: 11/27/2017
• Published: 05/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Virdia LLC (Stora Enso Oyj)
• Original Assignee: Virdia, Inc. (Stora Enso Oyj)
• Inventors: Eyal, Aharon, Jansen, Robert P., Vitner, Asher, Mali, Revital
• Granted Patent: US 10,760,138 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: C13B 10/02 Expressing juice from sugar cane or similar material, e.g. sorghum saccharatum
• CPC Class Codes: C13B 5/04 Shredding sugar cane
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 1/02 obtained by saccharification of cellulosic materials manufacture of fodder A23K10/32
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 11/00 Fructose separation from invert sugar C13K3/00
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 13/00 Sugars not otherwise provided for in this class
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 13/002 Xylose
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel

Abstract

A method comprising: (a) providing a partially processed sucrose crop product containing at least 2% optionally at least 5% of the sucrose content of said crop at harvest on a dry solids basis, cellulose and lignin; (b) hydrolyzing said partially processed crop product with HCl to produce an acid hydrolyzate stream and a lignin stream; and (c) de-acidifying said hydrolyzate stream to produce a de-acidified sugar solution and an HCl recovery stream. Additional, methods, systems and sugar mixtures are also disclosed.

Claims

1-6. -6. (canceled)

7. A method comprising

(a) providing a partially processed sucrose crop product containing at least 2% of the sucrose content of said crop at harvest on a dry solids basis, cellulose and lignin;

(b) hydrolyzing said partially processed crop product with acid to produce an acid hydrolyzate stream and a lignin stream; and

(c) de-acidifying said hydrolyzate stream to produce a de-acidified sugar solution.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said partially processed sucrose crop product comprises sugar cane leaves, sugar cane tops, or a combination thereof.

10. A method according to claim 7, wherein said de-acidified sugar solution includes at least 90% of a theoretical yield of sugars from said at least 2% of said sucrose content.

11. A method according to claim 7, wherein the ratio of hydroxymethylfurfural to sugars in said hydrolyzate stream is less than 0.01 weight/weight.

12. A method according to claim 7, wherein the ratio of hydroxymethylfurfural to sugars in said de-acidified sugar solution is less than 0.002 weight/weight.

13. A method according to claim 7, wherein the ratio of furfural to sugars in said hydrolyzate stream is less than 0.01 weight/weight.

14. A method according to claim 7, wherein the ratio of furfural to sugars in said de-acidified sugar solution is less than 0.002 weight/weight.

17. A method according to claim 7, wherein said hydrolyzing comprises contacting said partially processed crop product with said acid in a counter-current mode of operation.

24. The method according to claim 7, wherein said de-acidifying of said hydrolyzate comprises:

extracting said hydrolyzate, with a first extractant comprising a first solvent (S1) to produce an acid-carrying first extract and an acid-depleted sugar solution.

25. A method according to claim 24, comprising chromatographically separating said acid-depleted sugar solution to produce a monosaccharide enriched monomer cut.

28. A method according to claim 24, wherein said first solvent is selected from the group consisting of alcohols, ketones and aldehydes having at least 5 carbon atoms, and combinations thereof.

32. A method according to claim 7, wherein said de-acidifying said hydrolyzate reduces a concentration of at least one non-saccharide impurity in said hydrolyzate by at least 30% on a weight basis relative to the sugars.

33. A method according to claim 7, further comprising de-acidifying said lignin stream to form de-acidified lignin.

36. A method according to claim 7, wherein said partially processed crop product is produced from unburned sucrose crop.

57. A method according to claim 7, further comprising:

providing a culture medium comprising the de-acidified sugar solution; and

growing an organism in said medium to produce a fermentation product.

58. A method according to claim 57, wherein said fermentation product includes at least one member selected from the group consisting of alcohols, carboxylic acids, amino acids, monomers for the polymer industry and proteins.

95. A method according to claim 7, wherein the ratio of acid to sugars in said de-acidified sugar solution is less than 0.03 weight/weight.

96. A method according to claim 7, further comprising, prior to the providing of (a):

providing a harvested crop containing an amount of sucrose; and

processing said harvested crop to produce sugar juice containing sucrose and said partially processed sucrose crop product.

97. A method according to claim 96, wherein said sugar juice containing sucrose is inverted by the acid to produce glucose and fructose.

98. A method according to claim 7, wherein said partially processed crop product contains at least 5% of the sucrose content of said crop at harvest on a dry solids basis.

99. A method according to claim 24, wherein said first solvent is hexanol, 2-ethylhexanol, or a combination thereof.

100. A method according to claim 7, wherein the acid is HCl or sulfuric acid.

9. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

16. (canceled)

18-23. -23. (canceled)

26. (canceled)

27. (canceled)

29-31. -31. (canceled)

34. (canceled)

35. (canceled)

37-56. -56. (canceled)

59-94. -94. (canceled)