Processing biomass and petroleum containing materials

• US 9,517,444 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2015
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xyleco, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Xyleco, Inc.
• Inventors: Medoff, Marshall
• Primary Examiner(s): MCCAIG, BRIAN A
• Application Number:
  US14/879,337
• Publication Number:
  US 20160032341A1
• Time in Patent Office: 431 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/08 Processes employing the direct application of electric or wave energy, or particle radiation; Apparatus therefor application of shock waves B01J3/08
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/081 employing particle radiation or gamma-radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/085 Electron beams only
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/08 Processes employing the direct application of electric or wave energy, or particle radiation; Apparatus therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0879 Solid
• CPC Class Codes: C08B 1/00 Preparatory treatment of cellulose for making derivatives thereof , e.g. pre-treatment, pre-soaking, activation
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 11/00 Catalytic cracking, in the absence of hydrogen, of hydrocarbon oils cracking in direct contact with molten metals or salts C10G9/34
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 15/10 by particle radiation
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 2300/1011 Biomass
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 3/00 Production of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures from oxygen-containing organic materials, e.g. fatty oils, fatty acids production from non-melting solid oxygen-containing carbonaceous materials C10G1/00
• CPC Class Codes: C10G 47/00 Cracking of hydrocarbon oils, in the presence of hydrogen or hydrogen- generating compounds, to obtain lower boiling fractions C10G15/00 takes precedence; destructive hydrogenation of non-melting solid carbonaceous or similar materials C10G1/06
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/02 essentially based on components consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 1/04 essentially based on blends of hydrocarbons
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2200/0469 Renewables or materials of biological origin
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2270/02 for internal combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2270/04 for turbines, planes, power generation
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/02 Combustion or pyrolysis
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/06 Heat exchange, direct or indirect
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/26 Composting, fermenting or anaerobic digestion fuel components or materials from which fuels are prepared
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/34 Applying ultrasonic energy
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/36 : Applying radiation such as microwave, IR, UV
• CPC Class Codes: C10L 2290/543 : Distillation, fractionation or rectification for separating fractions, components or impurities during preparation or upgrading of a fuel
• 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 ethanol C12P7/10
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 5/00 : Preparation of hydrocarbons or halogenated hydrocarbons
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 5/02 : acyclic C12P5/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 5/023 : Methane
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/02 : containing a hydroxy group
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/04 : acyclic
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/10 : substrate containing cellulosic material
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/14 : Multiple stages of fermentation; Multiple types of microorganisms or re-use of microorganisms
• CPC Class Codes: C12P 7/16 : Butanols
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/1007 : with both reactants being gaseous or vaporised H01M8/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/1013 : Other direct alcohol fuel cells [DAFC]
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/16 : Biochemical fuel cells, i.e. cells in which microorganisms function as catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/22 : Fuel cells in which the fuel is based on materials comprising carbon or oxygen or hydrogen and other elements; Fuel cells in which the fuel is based on materials comprising only elements other than carbon, oxygen or hydrogen
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 : Fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 30/20 : using bio-feedstock
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/678 : Aviation using fuels of non-fossil origin

Abstract

Biomass (e.g., plant biomass, animal biomass, and municipal waste biomass) is processed to produce useful products, such as fuels. For example, systems can use feedstock materials, such as cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic materials and/or starchy materials, to produce ethanol and/or butanol, e.g., by fermentation.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

processing a cellulosic or lignocellulosic material that has been exposed to an ion beam generated by an accelerator, to produce a product or intermediate;

the ion beam providing a radiation dose of greater than 10 Mrad to the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material.

2. The method of claim 1, where in the accelerator is selected from the group consisting of:

a pulsed accelerator, a continuous wave accelerator, a LINAC accelerator, and a DC accelerator.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the DC accelerator device comprises a DC insulated core transformer (ICT) type system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the radiation dose is provided at a dose rate of about 1 Mrad/s to about 10 Mrad/s.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the exposure provides a dose rate of at least 1 Mrad/s.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein processing comprises saccharifying the irradiated cellulosic or lignocellulosic material utilizing an enzyme.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising converting the saccharified cellulosic or lignocellulosic material into the product.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the product is an alcohol.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein saccharifying the irradiated cellulosic or lignocellulosic material yields a sugar, and wherein the method further comprises converting the sugar into the product.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein converting the sugar into the product comprises fermenting the sugar to produce an alcohol.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the product comprises the alcohol.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the alcohol is selected from the group consisting of:

ethanol, methanol, propanol, isopropanol, butanol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, 1,4-butane diol, glycerin, and mixtures thereof.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the butanol is selected from the group consisting of:

n-butanol, sec-butanol, and t-butanol.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the accelerator has an output power of at least 50 kW.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the radiation dose is between about 10 and 50 Mrad.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the accelerator has an output power of at least 75 kW.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the accelerator has an output power of at least 100 kW.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the radiation dose is between 10 and 100 Mrad.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material is selected from the group consisting of:

plant waste, agricultural waste, forestry waste, yard waste, animal waste, municipal waste, sewage, synthetic celluloses, paper, paper products, paper waste, wood, wood pulp, particle board, sawdust, silage, alfalfa, hay, grasses, bagasse, cotton, jute, hemp, flax, bamboo, sisal, abaca, straw, rice hulls, oat hulls, corn cobs, corn fiber, corn stover, soybean stover, coconut hair, microbial biomass, seaweed, algae, plankton, yeast, and mixtures of these.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material is corn cob.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material is corn stover.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material also comprises a starch or a starchy material.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising mechanically treating the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material is treated before irradiation.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material is treated after irradiation.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the mechanical treatment reduces the particle size of the material.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the mechanical treatment is selected from the group consisting of cutting, grinding, shearing, and chopping.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein the mechanical treatment reduces the particle size of the material to an average of 1.59 mm or less.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein the mechanical treatment reduces the particle size of the material to an average of about 0.2 mm to about 1.5 mm.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the accelerator is a LINAC device selected from the group consisting of:

an L-band LINAC device and an S-band LINAC device.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the LINAC device has an overall length of about 2-4 meters.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein the ion beam effects a chain scission reaction effective to provide a yield increase in the product or intermediate extracted at a temperature and pressure effective to extract the product or intermediate.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the chain scission reaction comprises a ring-opening chain scission reaction.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the accelerator has a filter to remove undesired species.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein the ion beam comprises positively charged ions.

36. The method of claim 1, wherein the ion beam comprises at least one of protons, carbon ions, oxygen ions, and noble gas ions.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein the ion beam comprises at least one of platinum ions, palladium ions, rhenium ions, iridium ions, ruthenium ions, aluminum ions, nickel ions, and osmium ions.

38. The method of claim 1, further comprising exposing the material to an electron beam.

39. The method of claim 1, further comprising exposing the material to a reactive gas during exposure of the material to the ion beam.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the reactive gas comprises ozone.

41. The method of claim 1, wherein exposing the material to the ion beam comprises exposing the material to a first type of ions from a first ion beam, and exposing the material to a second type of ions from a second ion beam.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the first and second types of ions have different charges.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the first and second types of ions have different masses.

44. The method of claim 1, wherein during exposure to the ion beam the material is flowing.

45. The method of claim 1, wherein the ion beam comprises charged particles having an energy of 10 MeV/u or more.

46. The method of claim 1, wherein exposure to the ion beam breaks chemical bonds in at least a portion of the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material, leading to a reduction in molecular weight of at least a portion of the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material.

47. The method of claim 1, wherein exposure to the ion beam leads to isomerization of at least a portion of the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material, the isomerization effecting a reduction in viscosity.

48. The method of claim 1, wherein the ion beam composition is selected to effect the addition of a functional group to at least a portion of the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material, the functional group effective to increase ionic mobility within the functionalized portion.

49. The method of claim 1, wherein the ion beam comprises hydride ions.

50. The method of claim 1, wherein the ion beam comprises ions that behave chemically as Lewis acid moieties or Lewis base moieties when exposed to the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material.