Process of extracting oil from thin stillage

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10035973-B2
Application number	US-201414901504-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 20, 2014
Priority date	Jun 24, 2013
Publication date	Jul 31, 2018
Grant date	Jul 31, 2018

Abstract

The present invention relates to processes of recovering oil after liquefaction and/or from thin stillage and/or syrup/evaporated centrate from a fermentation product production process by adding a thermostable protease to the whole stillage, thin stillage and/or syrup.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process of recovering oil, comprising:
(a) converting a starch-containing material into dextrins with an alpha-amylase;
(b) saccharifying the dextrins using a carbohydrate source generating enzyme to form a sugar;
(c) fermenting the sugar in a fermentation medium into a fermentation product using a fermenting organism;
(d) recovering the fermentation product to form a whole stillage;
(e) separating the whole stillage into thin stillage and wet cake;
(e′) optionally concentrating the thin stillage into syrup; and
(f) recovering oil from the thin stillage and/or optionally the syrup, wherein a bacterial or fungal protease is present and/or added during steps (d)-(e′).

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the protease is present in and/or added in starch-containing material converting step (a).

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the temperature in step (a) is above the initial gelatinization temperature.

4. The process of recovering oil of claim 1 , wherein the starch-containing material is converted into dextrins with an alpha-amylase at a temperature above the initial gelatinization temperature.

5. The process of recovering oil of claim 1 , wherein the starch-containing material is converted into dextrins with an alpha-amylase at a temperature below the initial gelatinization temperature.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein the protease has a thermostability of more than 30%, more than 40%, more than 50%, more than 60%, more than 70%, more than 80%, more than 90%, more than 100%, more that 105%, more than 110%, more than 115%, or more than 120% determined as Relative Activity at 80° C./70° C.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein the protease has a thermostability between 50 and 115% determined as Relative Activity at 80° C./70° C.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the protease has a thermostability of more than 20%, determined as Relative Activity at 85° C./70° C.

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein the protease is the Rhizomucor miehei protease shown in SEQ ID NO: 9 or is a variant thereof having at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 9.

10. The process of claim 1 , wherein the protease is a bacterial serine protease.

11. The process of claim 1 , wherein the bacterial alpha-amylase is a the Bacillus stearothermophilus alpha-amylase having the sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1 herein, which is truncated to have from 485-495 amino acids.

12. The process of recovering oil of claim 1 , comprising recovering oil during and/or after step (a), wherein a protease having a thermostability value of more than 20% determined as Relative Activity at 80° C./70° C. is present and/or added in step (a).

13. The process of recovering oil of claim 1 , comprising
(e′) concentrating the thin stillage into syrup; and
(f) recovering oil from the syrup, wherein a protease having a thermostability value of more than 20% determined as Relative Activity at 80° C./70° C. is present and/or added in step (e′).

14. The process of claim 13 , wherein the protease is a bacterial serine protease.

15. The process of claim 14 , wherein the protease is a variant of the a Thermoascus aurantiacus protease shown in SEQ ID NO: 3 herein with the mutations selected from the group consisting of:
A27K+D79L+Y82F+S87G+D104P+A112P+A126V+D142L;
D79L+Y82F+S87G+A112P+D142L;
Y82F+S87G+S70V+D79L+D104P+A112P+D142L;
Y82F+S87G+D79L+D104P+A112P+A126V+D142L.

16. The process of claim 15 , wherein the protease is a Rhizomucor miehei protease having the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 9 or one having a sequence identity thereto of at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99%.

17. The process of claim 10 , wherein the bacterial serine protease is a Thermobifida fusca protease having the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 10 or is a variant thereof having at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 10.

18. The process of claim 14 , wherein the bacterial serine protease is a Thermobifida fusca protease having the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 10 or is a variant thereof having at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 10.

19. A process of recovering oil, comprising:
(a) converting a starch-containing material into dextrins with an alpha-amylase;
(b) saccharifying the dextrins using a carbohydrate source generating enzyme to form a sugar;
(c) fermenting the sugar in a fermentation medium into a fermentation product using a fermenting organism;
(d) recovering the fermentation product to form a whole stillage;
(e) separating the whole stillage into thin stillage and wet cake;
(e′) optionally concentrating the thin stillage into syrup; and
(f) recovering oil from the thin stillage and/or optionally the syrup, wherein a Pyrococcus furiosus protease is present and/or added during steps (d)-(e′).

20. The process of claim 19 , wherein the protease is the one shown SEQ ID NO: 4, or is a variant thereof having at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, at least 99% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 4.

Assignees

• Novozymes As

Inventors

• Kreel Nathaniel
• Jump Joseph

Classifications

• C12Y302/01001

  Alpha-amylase (3.2.1.1) · CPC title

• C12P7/64

  Fats; Fatty oils; Ester-type waxes; Higher fatty acids, i.e. having at least seven carbon atoms in an unbroken chain bound to a carboxyl group; Oxidised oils or fats · CPC title

• C12N9/2417

  from microbiological source · CPC title

• C12N9/52 Primary

  derived from bacteria {or Archaea} · CPC title

• B01D3/002

  by continuous methods · CPC title