Use of biomagnetism for biogas production

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12565668-B2
Application number	US-202017787343-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2020
Priority date	Dec 20, 2019
Publication date	Mar 3, 2026
Grant date	Mar 3, 2026

Abstract

A method for improving a biogas production is provided in which an organic substrate is pretreated by various methods. In particular, the method includes a combination of a magnetic and an enzymatic pretreatment of the substrate with an attractive specific energy gain. The application of a magnetic field induces changes in biological systems.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A method to produce biogas from organic substrates comprising:
providing an organic substrate; mixing the organic substrate with an enzyme to form an enzyme-substrate complex; exposing the enzyme-substrate complex to an induced magnetic field as magnetic pretreatment, wherein the magnetic pretreatment comprises (i) providing the magnetic field; and (ii) influencing the enzyme-substrate complex by the magnetic field for a time t 3 , wherein the induced magnetic field is provided by solenoid coil with direct current, wherein the enzyme-substrate complex is influenced by the magnetic field for a time t 3 , wherein t 3 is in a range of 2-6 h and the magnetic field has a magnetic flux density of a range smaller than 1 mT; exposing said magnetically treated enzyme-substrate complex to a first temperature T 1 for a first time t 1 in an incubator, wherein the time t 1 is in a range of 10 to 56 h and temperature T 1 is between 35° C.-60° C.; and initiating an anaerobe digestion.

2 . The method according to claim 1 characterized in that the exposing said magnetically treated enzyme-substrate complex to a first temperature T 1 for a first time t 1 is followed by (i) providing an additive; (ii) mixing said enzyme-substrate complex with said additive to form a fermentation broth; and (iii) introducing said fermentation broth into a bioreactor to produce biogas, resulting in initiating an anaerobe digestion.

3 . The method according to claim 2 characterized in that the additive is a sewage sludge.

4 . The method according to claim 1 characterized in that a sonication pretreatment is performed before the mixing step.

5 . The method according to claim 1 characterized in that said mixing step comprises:
(i) providing an enzyme solution, wherein an enzyme in the form of a powder is mixed with ultrapure water;
(ii) mixing the enzyme solution with the organic substrate to form the enzyme-substrate complex; P 1 wherein the organic substrate is ground and mixed with the enzyme solution by a magnetic stirrer for a time t 2 and/or the enzyme is pectinase from Aspergillus niger.

6 . The method according to claim 5 characterized in that the time t 2 is in a range of 2-20 min.

7 . The method according to claim 4 characterized in that the sonication pretreatment comprises: (i) affecting the organic substrate by ultrasound; and (ii) cooling the organic substrate with iced water during the sonication pretreatment.

8 . The method according to claim 1 characterized in that the organic substrate is sugar beet pulp.

9 . The method according to claim 2 characterized in that the fermentation broth is operated for a time t 4 at a mesophilic temperature T 2 in the bioreactor and/or Calcium carbonate is dissolved as an additive in the fermentation broth.

10 . The method according to claim 9 characterized in that the time t 4 is in a range of 15-30 days and/or the temperature T 2 is between 20° C.-45° C.

11 . The method according to claim 2 characterized in that the bioreactor is a stainless-steel bioreactor and/or comprises a mixing system which is composed of two 45° pitched blade turbine and/or Sodium bicarbonate is added to the bioreactor prior to the production of biogas and/or Nitrogen is purged in the bioreactor for a time t 5 prior to the production of biogas, wherein the time t 5 is in a range of 20-40 min.

12 . The method according to claim 3 characterized in that the sewage sludge is in anaerobic condition at temperature t 6 , wherein the temperature t 6 is room temperature.

13 . The method according to claim 1 wherein the time t 1 is in a range of 24-48 h and/or the temperature T 1 is between 45° C.-55° C.

14 . The method according to claim 5 characterized in that the time t 2 is 5-15 min.

15 . The method according to claim 1 characterized in that the magnetic flux density is 0.2 mT and/or the time t 3 is in a range 3-5 h.

16 . The method according to claim 9 characterized in that the time t 4 is in a range of 19-23 days and/or the temperature T 2 is between 30° C.-39° C.

17 . The method according to claim 11 characterized in that the time t 5 is in a range of 25-35 min.

Assignees

• Univ Berlin Tech
• Federal Univ Of Pernambuco

Inventors

• Pessoa Matheus
• Kraume Matthias
• Sobrinho Motta

Classifications

• C12Y302/01015

  Polygalacturonase (3.2.1.15) · CPC title

• C12N13/00

  Treatment of microorganisms or enzymes with electrical or wave energy, e.g. magnetism, sonic waves · CPC title

• C12N9/2402

  hydrolysing O- and S- glycosyl compounds (3.2.1) · CPC title

• Y02E50/30

  Fuel from waste, e.g. synthetic alcohol or diesel · CPC title

• C12M45/09

  by enzymatic treatment · CPC title