Process for producing sugars and ethanol using corn stillage
First Claim
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1. A process for producing sugars from a lignocellulosic material and corn comprising:
- pretreating the lignocellulosic material with an ammonia treatment process to produce a pretreated lignocellulosic material, wherein ammonia in the ammonia pretreatment process is present in a concentration ranging from about 0.2 to about 4 grams ammonia per gram of the lignocellulosic material;
separating corn grain stillage into a substantially liquid fraction comprising about 0.05 wt. % to about 50 wt. % crude protein and a substantially solid fraction;
adding the substantially liquid fraction to the pretreated lignocellulosic material; and
hydrolyzing complex carbohydrates in the pretreated lignocellulosic material in an aqueous medium with one or more hydrolyzing enzymes to form the sugars, wherein the substantially liquid fraction comprises some or all of the aqueous medium.
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Abstract
A process for producing sugars from lignocellulosic materials such as corn stover by the addition of corn stillage as a carbon source is disclosed. The sugars are formed by treating the combination of the corn stillage and the lignocellulosic materials with hydrolytic enzymes. The sugars can be fermented to ethanol, and the process improves ethanol production economies with an increased sugar yield from the lignocellulosic materials.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A process for producing sugars from a lignocellulosic material and corn comprising:
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pretreating the lignocellulosic material with an ammonia treatment process to produce a pretreated lignocellulosic material, wherein ammonia in the ammonia pretreatment process is present in a concentration ranging from about 0.2 to about 4 grams ammonia per gram of the lignocellulosic material; separating corn grain stillage into a substantially liquid fraction comprising about 0.05 wt. % to about 50 wt. % crude protein and a substantially solid fraction; adding the substantially liquid fraction to the pretreated lignocellulosic material; and hydrolyzing complex carbohydrates in the pretreated lignocellulosic material in an aqueous medium with one or more hydrolyzing enzymes to form the sugars, wherein the substantially liquid fraction comprises some or all of the aqueous medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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8. A process for producing sugars from a lignocellulosic material and corn comprising:
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pretreating the lignocellulosic material with an ammonia treatment process to produce a pretreated lignocellulosic material, wherein ammonia in the ammonia pretreatment process is present in a concentration ranging from about 0.2 to about 4 grams ammonia per gram of the lignocellulosic material; separating corn grain stillage into a protein-containing thin stillage component and a wet grain component; adding the protein-containing thin stillage component to the pretreated lignocellulosic material; and hydrolyzing complex carbohydrates in the pretreated lignocellulosic material with one or more hydrolyzing enzymes to form the sugars, wherein the hydrolyzing is performed in an aqueous medium which contains the pretreated lignocellulosic material, the protein-containing thin stillage component, and the hydrolyzing enzymes, wherein the aqueous medium comprises about 0.02 wt. % to about 5 wt. % crude corn protein as a component of the protein-containing thin stillage component relative to the aqueous medium. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A process for producing sugars from corn stover comprising:
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pretreating the corn stover to produce pretreated corn stover, wherein the pretreating is performed with an ammonia treatment process which causes hemicellulose and cellulose in the corn stover to become more accessible to hydrolysis, wherein ammonia in the ammonia treatment process is present in a concentration ranging from about 0.2 to about 4 grams ammonia per gram of the lignocellulosic material; adding thin corn grain stillage to an aqueous medium containing the pretreated corn stover, wherein the thin corn grain stillage comprises crude corn protein and the aqueous medium comprises about 0.5 wt. % to about 99 wt. % thin corn grain stillage relative to the aqueous medium; and hydrolyzing the hemicellulose and cellulose in the aqueous medium with one or more hydrolyzing enzymes to form the sugars. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A process for producing sugars from a lignocellulosic material and corn comprising:
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pretreating the lignocellulosic material with an ammonia treatment process to produce a pretreated lignocellulosic material, wherein ammonia in the ammonia pretreatment process is present in a concentration ranging from about 0.2 to about 4 grams ammonia per gram of the lignocellulosic material; adding corn grain stillage to the pretreated lignocellulosic material, wherein the corn grain stillage comprises crude corn protein; and in an aqueous medium, hydrolyzing complex carbohydrates in the pretreated lignocellulosic material with one or more hydrolyzing enzymes to form sugars, wherein the aqueous medium contains the pretreated lignocellulosic material, the corn grain stillage, and the one or more hydrolyzing enzymes, further wherein the aqueous medium comprises about 0.5 wt. % to about 99 wt. % corn grain stillage relative to the aqueous medium. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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Specification