Method of making propanol and ethanol from plant material by biological conversion and gasification
First Claim
1. A method for producing propanol and ethanol from a material, wherein the material comprises plant material or plant material that has been subject to pretreatment or saccharification, and wherein less than 75% by weight of the carbon-containing compounds in the material are carbohydrate substances, the method comprising:
- i) converting the material into at least a first intermediate and a second intermediate,wherein the first intermediate is produced by a biological conversion process and comprises propionic acid, a propionate ester, a propionate salt, acetic acid, an acetate ester, an acetate salt, or a mixture thereof, andwherein the second intermediate is produced by gasification and comprises a reductant; and
ii) reacting the reductant and the propionic acid, propionate ester, propionate salt, acetic acid, acetate ester, acetate salt, or a mixture thereof by hydrogenation to produce propanol and ethanol,wherein the chemical energy efficiency of the method is greater than the chemical energy efficiency of i) a method in which the material is converted into propanol and ethanol using only a biological conversion process; and
ii) a method in which all of the material is initially subjected to a thermochemical conversion step as part of the process to produce propanol and ethanol.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to processes that efficiently convert carbon-containing materials, such as biomass, into products in such a manner that the energy, carbon, and mass content of the materials are efficiently transferred into such products. Such methods include converting the materials into at least one intermediate by a biological conversion process and at least one intermediate by a thermochemical conversion process and reacting the intermediates to form the product. Such methods have a chemical energy efficiency to produce the product that is greater than the chemical energy efficiency of a solely biological conversion process to produce the product and that is greater than the chemical energy efficiency of a process in which all of the material is initially subjected to a thermochemical conversion step as part of the process to produce the product.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for producing propanol and ethanol from a material, wherein the material comprises plant material or plant material that has been subject to pretreatment or saccharification, and wherein less than 75% by weight of the carbon-containing compounds in the material are carbohydrate substances, the method comprising:
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i) converting the material into at least a first intermediate and a second intermediate, wherein the first intermediate is produced by a biological conversion process and comprises propionic acid, a propionate ester, a propionate salt, acetic acid, an acetate ester, an acetate salt, or a mixture thereof, and wherein the second intermediate is produced by gasification and comprises a reductant; and ii) reacting the reductant and the propionic acid, propionate ester, propionate salt, acetic acid, acetate ester, acetate salt, or a mixture thereof by hydrogenation to produce propanol and ethanol, wherein the chemical energy efficiency of the method is greater than the chemical energy efficiency of i) a method in which the material is converted into propanol and ethanol using only a biological conversion process; and
ii) a method in which all of the material is initially subjected to a thermochemical conversion step as part of the process to produce propanol and ethanol. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification