Device that produces sugar solution and method of producing sugar solution

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10385302-B2
Application number	US-201414759513-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 6, 2014
Priority date	Jan 7, 2013
Publication date	Aug 20, 2019
Grant date	Aug 20, 2019

Abstract

A device that produces a sugar solution from cellulose-containing biomass includes: a horizontal reaction tank that includes a stirring shaft provided along a horizontal direction in the horizontal reaction tank and a stirring blade provided to the stirring shaft, the horizontal reaction tank being configured to obtain a saccharified slurry by reacting the cellulose-containing biomass with a saccharification enzyme by stirring the cellulose-containing biomass and the saccharification enzyme; a vertical reaction tank configured to obtain a saccharified liquid by saccharifying the saccharified slurry; a saccharified slurry feed line that connects the horizontal reaction tank and the vertical reaction tank; and a warming part provided around the horizontal reaction tank or on a wall surface of the horizontal reaction tank and heats the horizontal reaction tank.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device that produces a sugar solution from cellulose-containing biomass comprising:
a horizontal reaction tank that includes a stirring shaft provided along a horizontal direction in the horizontal reaction tank and a stirring blade provided to the stirring shaft, the horizontal reaction tank being configured to obtain a saccharified slurry by reacting the cellulose-containing biomass with a saccharification enzyme by stirring the cellulose-containing biomass and the saccharification enzyme;
a vertical reaction tank configured to obtain a saccharified liquid by saccharifying the saccharified slurry;
a saccharified slurry feed line that connects the horizontal reaction tank and the vertical reaction tank; and
a warming part provided around the horizontal reaction tank or on a wall surface of the horizontal reaction tank and heats the horizontal reaction tank,
wherein the horizontal reaction tank comprises:
a biomass inlet located at one side of the horizontal reaction tank and feeds the cellulose-containing biomass;
a saccharified slurry outlet located at another side of the horizontal reaction tank opposite to the biomass inlet and discharges the saccharified slurry,
a stemming part located at the saccharified slurry outlet and stems stream of the saccharified slurry,
the stemming part is a plate-shaped member contiguous with a bottom wall of the horizontal reaction tank and extending from the bottom wall toward a top wall of the horizontal reaction tank to form an opening between a top end of the plate-shaped member and the top wall such that the opening communicates with the saccharified slurry outlet, and
a height of the stemming part is adjustable to provide continuous discharge of the saccharified slurry.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the stirring shaft is heated.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the stirring shaft and the warming part is a hollow body through which a heat transfer medium is capable of flowing.

4. The device according to claim 3 , wherein a temperature of the heat transfer medium is 40° C. to 60° C.

5. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising a biomass feed part located at a front stream side of the biomass inlet of the horizontal reaction tank and feeds the cellulose-containing biomass.

6. The device according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a saccharified liquid feed line that discharges the saccharified liquid from the vertical reaction tank; and
a solid-liquid separation unit configured to obtain the sugar solution by separating a solid content from the saccharified liquid.

7. The device according to claim 6 , further comprising a warm water feed line connected to the solid-liquid separation unit and feeds warm water into the solid-liquid separation unit.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein
the horizontal reaction tank is provided with a plurality of such stirring shafts, and
each of the stirring shafts is provided with a plurality of stirring blades.

9. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the stirring blade has a cut-away part.

10. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the vertical reaction tank comprises a second enzyme feed channel that feeds a saccharification enzyme into the vertical reaction tank.

11. The device according to claim 10 , wherein a saccharification enzyme fed into the horizontal reaction tank and a saccharification enzyme fed from the second enzyme feed channel are of different types.

12. The device according to claim 1 , wherein a saccharification reaction of the cellulose-containing biomass with the saccharification enzyme in the horizontal reaction tank is carried out in an amount of dry mass of thermochemically treated cellulose-containing biomass of 15% by mass to 50% by mass relative to a whole mass of the saccharified slurry.

13. The device according to claim 12 , wherein the thermochemical treatment is selected from the group consisting of ammonia treatment, hydrothermal treatment, blasting treatment, alkali treatment and dilute sulfuric acid treatment.

14. A method of producing a sugar solution from cellulose-containing biomass with a device that produces a sugar solution, the device comprising:
a horizontal reaction tank that includes a stirring shaft provided along a horizontal direction in the horizontal reaction tank and a stirring blade provided to the stirring shaft, the horizontal reaction tank being configured to obtain a saccharified slurry by reacting the cellulose-containing biomass with a saccharification enzyme by stirring the cellulose-containing biomass and the saccharification enzyme;
a vertical reaction tank configured to obtain a saccharified liquid by saccharifying the saccharified slurry;
a saccharified slurry feed line that connects the horizontal reaction tank and the vertical reaction tank; and
a warming part provided around the horizontal reaction tank or on a wall surface of the horizontal reaction tank and heats the horizontal reaction tank, the method comprising reacting the cellulose-containing biomass with the saccharification enzyme with stirring and with heat to obtain a saccharified slurry liquid,
wherein the horizontal reaction tank comprises:
a biomass inlet located at one side of the horizontal reaction tank and feeds the cellulose-containing biomass;
a saccharified slurry outlet located at another side of the horizontal reaction tank opposite to the biomass inlet and discharges the saccharified slurry,
a stemming part located at the saccharified slurry outlet and stems stream of the saccharified slurry, and
the stemming part is a plate-shaped member contiguous with a bottom wall of the horizontal reaction tank and extending from the bottom wall toward a top wall of the horizontal reaction tank to form an opening between a top end of the plate-shaped member and the top wall such that the opening communicates with the saccharified slurry outlet.

15. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the saccharified slurry outlet is surrounded by the stemming part and the wall surface of the horizontal reaction tank.

Assignees

• Toray Industries

Inventors

• Minamino Atsushi
• Kishimoto Jumpei
• Kurihara Hiroyuki
• Yamada Katsushige

Classifications

• C12M41/24

  inside the vessel · CPC title

• C12P19/14

  produced by the action of a carbohydrase {(EC 3.2.x)}, e.g. by alpha-amylase {, e.g. by cellulase, hemicellulase} · CPC title

• C13K1/02

  obtained by saccharification of cellulosic materials (manufacture of fodder A23K10/32) · CPC title

• C12M35/08

  Chemical, biochemical or biological means, e.g. plasma jet, co-culture · CPC title

• C12M29/00

  Means for introduction, extraction or recirculation of materials, e.g. pumps (pumps per se F04B) · CPC title