Methods and systems for removing undissolved solids prior to extractive fermentation in the production of butanol

• US 8,557,540 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2011
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gevo Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Butamax(TM) Advanced Biofuels LLC (BP PLC)
• Inventors: Burlew, Keith H., Grady, Michael Charles, Hallam, John W., Lowe, David J., Roesch, Brian Michael, Zaher, Joseph J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Steadman, David J
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOLLAND, PAUL J
• Application Number:
  US13/163,243
• Publication Number:
  US 20120164302A1
• Time in Patent Office: 851 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 435/41
• CPC Class Codes: A23K 10/38 from distillers' or brewers' waste
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 11/0492 Applications, solvents used
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 21/26 Separation of sediment aided by centrifugal force or centripetal forcecentrifuges B04B; cyclones B04C
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 21/262 by using a centrifuge
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 3/002 by continuous methods
• CPC Class Codes: C07C 29/86 by liquid-liquid treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C11B 1/025 by enzymes or microorganisms, living or dead
• CPC Class Codes: C11B 13/00 Recovery of fats, fatty oils or fatty acids from waste materials
• CPC Class Codes: C12F 3/10 from distillery slops
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 1/00 Apparatus for enzymology or microbiology
• 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 45/04 Phase separators; Separation of non fermentable material; Fractionation
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 45/09 by enzymatic treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 1/14 Fungi culture of mushrooms A01G18/00; as new plants A01H15/00; Culture media therefor
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 15/00 Mutation or genetic engineering; DNA or RNA concerning genetic engineering, vectors, e.g. plasmids, or their isolation, preparation or purification; Use of hosts therefor mutants or genetically engineered microorganisms, per se C12N1/00, C12N5/00, C12N7/00; new plants per se A01H; plant reproduction by tissue culture techniques A01H4/00; new animals per se A01K67/00; use of medicinal preparations containing genetic material which is inserted into cells of the living body to treat genetic diseases, gene therapy A61K48/00
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/16 Butanols
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/18 polyhydric
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/6418 by hydrolysis of fatty acid esters
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 30/74 Recovery of fats, fatty oils, fatty acids or other fatty substances, e.g. lanolin or waxes

Abstract

A method and system for efficiently producing a fermentative product alcohol such as butanol utilizing in situ product extraction are provided. The efficiency is obtained through separating undissolved solids after liquefying a given feedstock to create a feedstock and prior to fermentation, for example, through centrifugation. Removal of the undissolved solids avoids problems associated with having the undissolved solids present during in situ production extraction, and thereby increases the efficiency of the alcohol production.

Claims

1. A method for producing a fermentation product and an animal feed co-product comprising:

providing a feedstock, wherein the feedstock comprises sugar, oil, gluten, and fiber;

milling the feedstock in a dry-grind liquefaction system comprising a hammer mill and liquefaction vessel and liquefying the feedstock to create a feedstock slurry, wherein the feedstock slurry comprises sugar, liquid oil, and undissolved solids, wherein said undissolved solids comprise gluten and fiber;

separating said undissolved solids and the liquid oil from the feedstock slurry in a single vessel, to create;

an aqueous solution comprising sugar (i), a wet cake comprising the undissolved solids (ii), and the liquid oil (iii);

recovering the aqueous solution (i), the wet cake (ii), and the liquid oil (iii) as separate streams from the single vessel;

contacting the recovered aqueous solution (i) with a fermentation broth in a fermentor;

fermenting the sugar in the aqueous solution (i) in the fermentor to produce the fermentation product; and

processing the wet cake (ii) to produce the animal feed co-product.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedstock is corn and the liquid oil is corn oil.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a ratio of undissolved solids in the wet cake to corn oil in the liquid oil on a weight basis is in a range from 2:

1 to 25;

1.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the corn is unfractionated.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the undissolved solids, the aqueous solution, and the liquid oil are separated by three-phase centrifuge centrifugation, disk stack centrifugation, flotation, hydroclone, gravity settler, or vortex separator.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of separating the undissolved solids and the liquid oil from the feedstock slurry in a single vessel comprises centrifuging the feedstock slurry.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the wet cake is washed with water to recover oligosaccharides present in the wet cake.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing in situ removal of the fermentation product from the fermentation broth as the fermentation product is produced.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the in situ removal comprises liquid-liquid extraction.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein an extractant for the liquid-liquid extraction is an organic extractant.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the extractant comprises one or more immiscible organic extractants selected from the group consisting of C₁₂ to C₂₂ fatty alcohols, C₁₂ to C₂₂ fatty acids, esters of C₁₂ to C₂₂ fatty acids, C₁₂ to C₂₂ fatty aldehydes, C₁₂ to C₂₂ fatty amides, and mixtures thereof.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the extractant comprises C₁₂ to C₂₂ fatty acids derived from corn oil.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising saccharifying the sugar in the aqueous solution simultaneously with fermenting the sugar in the fermentor.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the animal feed co-product comprises at least 22% by weight protein.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising saccharifying the sugar prior to fermenting the sugar in the fermentor.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of separating the undissolved solids and the liquid oil from the feedstock slurry comprises centrifuging the feedstock slurry.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein centrifuging the feedstock slurry occurs prior to saccharifying the sugar.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the fermentation broth comprises a recombinant microorganism comprising a butanol biosynthetic pathway.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the fermentation product is selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, pentanol, and isomers thereof.

19. The method of 18, wherein the fermentation product is isobutanol.

20. The method of 19, wherein the step of recovering undissolved solids from the feedstock slurry increases the efficiency of the isobutanol production by increasing a liquid-liquid mass transfer coefficient of the isobutanol from the fermentation broth to an extractant;

increases the efficiency of the isobutanol production by increasing an extraction efficiency of the isobutanol with an extractant;

increases the efficiency of the isobutanol production by increasing a rate of phase separation between the fermentation broth and an extractant;

increases the efficiency of the isobutanol production by increasing recovery and recycling of an extractant;

increases the efficiency of the isobutanol production by decreasing a flow rate of an extractant;

or combinations thereof.