Method of dewatering post fermentation fluids

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11273455-B2
Application number	US-201716312469-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2017
Priority date	Jun 27, 2016
Publication date	Mar 15, 2022
Grant date	Mar 15, 2022

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of dewatering post fermentation fluids in a starch to ethanol process. More particularly the invention relates to use of a nuclease enzyme for separation of whole stillage into an insoluble fraction and a supernatant fraction. In a specific embodiment the present invention relates to a method of dewatering whole stillage comprising the steps of: i) subjecting whole stillage to one or more nuclease enzymes; ii) separating the material into an insoluble fraction and a supernatant fraction.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of dewatering whole stillage comprising the steps of:
i) subjecting whole stillage to one or more nuclease enzymes;
ii) separating the material into an insoluble fraction and a supernatant fraction.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein separation in step ii) is carried out by centrifugation.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein separation in step ii) is carried out by filtration.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the whole stillage is derived from a process of producing a fermentation product.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the whole stillage is derived from a process of producing a fermentation product from starch-containing material.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the starch-containing material is a cereal.

7. The method of claims 5 , wherein the starch-containing material is selected from the group consisting of corn, wheat, barley, cassava, sorghum, rye and potato, or any combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the starch-containing material is corn.

9. The method of claim 4 , wherein the fermentation product is an alcohol.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nuclease enzyme(s) used in step i) is(are): (a) phosphodiesterase, (b) polynucleotidase or nucleodepolymerase, (c) endonuclease or exonuclease, or (d) DNAse or RNAse.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nuclease enzyme used in step i) is selected from the group consisting of members of EC 3.1.11.-, EC 3.1.12.-, EC 3.1.13.-, EC 3.1.14.-, EC 3.1.15.-, EC 3.1.16.-, EC 3.1.21.- (such as EC 3.1.21.1 to 4), EC 3.1.22.-, EC 3.1.25.-, EC 3.1.26.-, EC 3.1.27.-, EC 3.1.3.-, EC 3.1.30.-, EC 3.1.31.-, EC 3.1.4.- and EC 3.1.99.-, family, or a mixture thereof.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the nuclease enzyme is derived from a bacterium.

13. The method of claim 4 , wherein the fermentation product is ethanol.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the bacterium is a strain of Bacillus.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the strain is selected from the group consisting of B. subtilis and B licheniformis.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the fungus is a strain of Aspergillus.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the strain is A. oryzae.

18. The method of claim 12 , wherein the plant is mung bean.

19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the animal source is bovine spleen.

Assignees

• Novozymes As

Inventors

• Xu Feng

Classifications

• C12N9/22 Primary

  Ribonucleases {[RNase]; Deoxyribonucleases [DNase]} · CPC title

• B04B3/04

  discharging solid particles from the bowl by a conveying screw coaxial with the bowl axis and rotating relatively to the bowl · CPC title

• C12R2001/10

  Bacillus licheniformis · CPC title

• B04B5/10

  Centrifuges combined with other apparatus, e.g. electrostatic separators; Sets or systems of several centrifuges (B04B5/12 takes precedence; magnetic or electrostatic separators B03C; {amassing particles by electric fields, e.g. by agglomeration B03C3/0175}) · CPC title

• Y02E50/10

  Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel · CPC title