Systems and processes for cellulosic ethanol production

• US 7,514,247 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2008
• Issued: 04/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wise Landfill Recycling Mining, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Wise Landfill Recycling Mining, Inc.
• Inventors: Rush, Stephen L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Naff; David M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Srivastava; Kailash C
• Application Number:
  US12/192,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20080299633A1
• Time in Patent Office: 235 Days
• Field of Search: 435/18, 435/25, 435/26, 435/41, 435/165
• US Class Current: 435/165
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/026 for compression ignition
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/10 substrate containing cellulosic material
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/649 Biodiesel, i.e. fatty acid alkyl esters
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel

Abstract

A cellulosic ethanol production process. An implementation of a process for producing fuel ethanol and biodiesel from cellulose may include: providing a raw cellulose stream by mixing a waste cellulose stream and an algae cellulose stream, hydrolyzing the raw cellulose stream to form a hydrolyzed cellulose stream, liquefying the hydrolyzed cellulose stream to produce a formed sugars stream and one or more liquefaction byproduct streams, fermenting the formed sugars stream to produce a raw ethanol stream by reacting the sugars stream with a yeast feed in at least one fermenter, separating the raw ethanol stream to form a fuel ethanol stream, producing an algae stream by reacting at least one of the one or more liquefaction byproduct streams with algae in at least one algae bioreactor, and reacting the algae stream in at least one biodiesel reactor to produce the algae cellulose stream and a biodiesel stream.

Claims

1. An integrated process to produce fuel ethanol and biodiesel from cellulose comprising:

providing a raw cellulose stream to one or more containers selected from the group consisting of a vat, a bioreactor, and a tank by mixing a waste cellulose stream and an algae cellulose stream;

hydrolyzing the raw cellulose stream to form a hydrolyzed cellulose stream;

liquefying the hydrolyzed cellulose stream to produce a formed sugars stream and one or more liquefaction byproduct streams;

fermenting the formed sugars stream to produce a raw ethanol stream by reacting the sugars stream with a yeast feed in at least one fermenter;

separating the raw ethanol stream to form a fuel ethanol stream;

producing an algae stream by reacting at least one of the one or more liquefaction byproduct streams with algae in at least one algae bioreactor;

reacting the algae stream in at least one biodiesel reactor to produce the algae cellulose stream and a biodiesel stream; and

recovering the fuel ethanol and the biodiesel from their respective streams.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein during the step of hydrolyzing the raw cellulose stream, the method further comprises combining the raw cellulose stream with one of capsaicin, quercetin, genestine, ethanol, and any combination thereof.

3. The process of claim 2, wherein during the step of hydrolyzing the raw cellulose stream, the method further comprises reducing the concentration of auxin in the raw cellulose stream using one or more organic transport inhibitors selected form the group consisting of capsaicin, quercetin, genestine, ethanol, and any combination thereof.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein during the step of hydrolyzing the raw cellulose stream, the method further comprises adjusting the pH of the raw cellulose stream with one of capsaicin, an inorganic acid, an organic acid, and any combination thereof.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein during the step of hydrolyzing the raw cellulose stream, the method further comprises:

combining the raw cellulose stream with a compound selected from the group consisting of;

one or more enzymes selected from the group consisting of dehydrogenase, alcohol dehydrogenase E and a combination thereof;

one or more organic transport inhibitors selected from the group consisting of capsaicin, quercetin, genestine, ethanol, and a combination thereof; and

a combination of said enzymes and said organic transport inhibitors.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein during the step of hydrolyzing the raw cellulose stream, the method further comprises:

recombining the raw cellulose stream with one or more enzymes selected from the group consisting of;

dehydrogenase, formate, alcohol dehydrogenase E, and a combination thereof.

7. The process of claim 1, wherein one of the one or more liquefaction byproduct streams includes xylitol.