Method and apparatus for treatment of biomass substrates

• US 9,056,893 B2
• Filed: 06/21/2013
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Suganit Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Suganit Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Paripati, Praveen, Dadi, Anantharam
• Primary Examiner(s): Brusca, John S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Papciak, Sharon M
• Application Number:
  US13/923,455
• Publication Number:
  US 20140004563A1
• Time in Patent Office: 725 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/0006 Controlling or regulating processes controlling or regulating in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/129 Radiofrequency
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00056 involving measured parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00148 Radiofrequency
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00162 controlling the pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0801 Controlling the process
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0871 Heating or cooling of the reactor
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0879 Solid
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/089 Liquid-solid
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/12 Processes employing electromagnetic waves
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/1203 Incoherent waves
• CPC Class Codes: C07G 1/00 Lignin; Lignin derivatives
• CPC Class Codes: C07H 1/08 from natural products
• CPC Class Codes: C07K 1/145 by extraction or solubilisation
• CPC Class Codes: C08B 15/00 Preparation of other cellulose derivatives or modified cellulose , e.g. complexes
• CPC Class Codes: C08H 6/00 Macromolecular compounds derived from lignin, e.g. tannins, humic acids
• CPC Class Codes: C08H 8/00 Macromolecular compounds derived from lignocellulosic materials pretreatment thereof B27N
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 45/00 Means for pre-treatment of biological substances
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 45/03 by control of the humidity or content of liquids; Drying
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 45/06 by chemical means or hydrolysis
• CPC Class Codes: C12M 45/07 : by electrical or electromagnetic forces
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 19/02 : Monosaccharides 2-ketogulonic acid C12P7/60
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 19/14 : produced by the action of a carbohydrase (EC 3.2.x), e.g. by alpha-amylase , e.g. by cellulase, hemicellulase
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 2201/00 : Pretreatment of cellulosic or lignocellulosic material for subsequent enzymatic treatment or hydrolysis
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 2203/00 : Fermentation products obtained from optionally pretreated or hydrolyzed cellulosic or lignocellulosic material as the carbon source
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 1/02 : obtained by saccharification of cellulosic materials manufacture of fodder A23K10/32
• CPC Class Codes: C13K 13/002 : Xylose
• CPC Class Codes: D21B 1/021 : by chemical means
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 3/34 : by using electrical effects
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/10 : Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 50/30 : Fuel from waste, e.g. synthetic alcohol or diesel

Abstract

A system and method for the treatment of biomass comprising mixing a biomass with an ionic liquid (IL) to swell the biomass and electromagnetic (EM) heating, preferably radiofrequency (RF) heating, said biomass. Additionally, a method of acidolysis of biomass comprising mixing biomass in an ionic liquid (IL) to swell the biomass; adding an acid, to lower the pH of the biomass below pH 7; applying radio frequency (RF) heating to the biomass to heat to a target temperature range; applying ultrasonic heating, electromagnetic (EM) heating, convective heating, conductive heating, or combinations thereof, to the biomass to maintain the biomass at a target temperature range; washing the treated biomass; and recovering sugars and released lignin.

Claims

1. A method for the treatment of biomass comprising mixing a biomass with an ionic liquid (IL) to swell said biomass and radiofrequency (RF) heating said swelled biomass,

wherein said heating comprises at least two phases, a first phase comprising heating and a second phase comprising application of radiofrequency (RF) heating.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said biomass is agricultural residues;

wood and forest residues;

algae;

kudzu;

coal;

cellulose, lignin, herbaceous energy crops;

lignocellulosic;

biomass;

plant biomass;

or mixtures thereof.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said agricultural residues are corn stover, wheat straw, bagasse, rice hulls, rice straw, or combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said wood and forest residues are pine, poplar, douglas fir, oak, saw dust, paper/pulp waste, wood fiber, or combinations thereof.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said herbaceous energy crops are switchgrass, reed canary grass, miscanthus, or combinations thereof.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein lignocellulosic biomass comprises lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said radiofrequency comprises a frequency between about 1-300 MHz, 3-30 kHz, 300 kHz-3 MHz, 3-30 MHz, 30-300 MHz, or 3 kHz to 3 MHz.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said radiofrequency comprises a frequency between about 3-30 kHz.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said biomass is heated in the first and second heating phase to a temperature of at least about 1-300°

C., 50°

C.-100°

C., 60°

C.-130°

C., 80°

C.-175°

C., or 100°

C.-240°

C.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said method further comprises washing the treated biomass.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said washing comprises washing the biomass with a liquid non-solvent for cellulose that is miscible with water and the ionic liquid (IL).

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the liquid non-solvent used for washing is water, an alcohol, acetonitrile or a solvent which dissolves the IL and thereby extracts the IL from the biomass.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said ionic liquid is recovered from the liquid non-solvent by activated charcoal treatment, distillation, membrane separation, electro-chemical separation techniques, solid-phase extraction, liquid-liquid extraction, or a combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said ionic liquid is recovered from the liquid non-solvent by application of electromagnetic heating, that dehydrates the ionic liquid.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said electromagnetic heating is radiofrequency heating.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the biomass is subjected to additional heating with agitation, ultrasonics heating, electromagnetic (EM) heating, convective heating, conductive heating, microwave irradiation, or a combination thereof.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the biomass is subjected to additional heating, further comprising intermittent agitation during heating.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the ionic liquid comprises a cation structure that includes ammonium, sulfonium, phosphonium, lithium, imidazolium, pyridinium, picolinium, pyrrolidinium, thiazolium, triazolium, oxazolium, or combinations thereof.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the ionic liquid comprises a cation selected from imidazolium, pyrrolidinium, pyridinium, phosphonium, ammonium, or a combination thereof.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the ionic liquid (IL) is 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-allyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride, 3-methyl-N-butylpyridinium chloride, 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium acetate, 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium propionatem, or combinations thereof.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the conditions of said biomass undergoing radiofrequency (RF) heating is monitored by means of sensors.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said sensor is a liquid flow rate sensor, thermocouple sensor, temperature sensor, salinity sensor, or a combination thereof.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein said method further comprises treating said treated biomass with enzymes, to convert the cellulose and hemicellulose to sugars.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said are thermophilic enzymes, that are active up to about 70°

C.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein said method further comprises recovering the enzymes.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein said sugars are hexose sugars, pentose sugars, and mixtures thereof.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein said treatment produces a solid residue comprising proteins and lignin.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein said application of radiofrequency heating is for about 1-60 minutes.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein said biomass is heated in the first and second heating phase to a temperature of about 80°

C.-175°

C.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein said method is performed on a large scale.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein said method is performed with high solids loading.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein said high solids loading is >

20% w/w.

33. The method of claim 1, wherein said first phase heating comprises convective heating, conductive heating, or a combination thereof.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein said method is a continuous method.

35. A method of acidolysis of biomass comprising

(a) mixing biomass in an ionic liquid (IL) to swell said biomass;

(b) adding an acid;

(c) an initial heating phase comprising heating the biomass to heat to a target temperature range;

(d) a maintenance heating phase comprising applying radiofrequency (RF) heating to the biomass to maintain the biomass at said target temperature range; and

(e) recovering sugars.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein said method further comprises addition of a base to neutralize the pH of the biomass.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the base is NaOH, KOH, or a combination thereof.

38. The method of claim 35, wherein said method further comprises washing said biomass after step (a).

39. The method of claim 35, wherein said acid is sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, or phosphoric acid.

40. The method of claim 35, wherein the method further comprises the step of lowering the pH of the biomass below pH 7.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the pH is lowered to 1-6.

42. The method of claim 35, wherein the target temperature range is 50-220°

C.

43. The method of claim 35, wherein said sugars are pentose, hexose, or a combination thereof.

44. The method of claim 35, wherein said initial phase heating comprises convective heating, conductive heating, or a combination thereof.

45. The method of claim 35, wherein said method is a continuous method.