Upgrading process streams

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9925496-B2
Application number	US-201715487565-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 14, 2017
Priority date	Mar 8, 2013
Publication date	Mar 27, 2018
Grant date	Mar 27, 2018

Abstract

Biomass (e.g., plant biomass, animal biomass, and municipal waste biomass) is processed to produce useful intermediates and products, such as energy, fuels, foods or materials. Systems, methods and equipment are described for upgrading process streams using electrodialysis or electrodialysis reversal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
removing salts, partially ionized acids or fully ionized acids, from saccharified biomass liquids utilizing a first electrodialysis system and converting the removed salt to its neutralized form utilizing a second electrodialysis system, wherein the second electrodialysis system comprises a bipolar membrane electrodialysis system.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrodialysis system utilizes electrodialysis or electrodialysis reversal.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the saccharified biomass liquids comprise a reduced recalcitrance, cellulosic or lignocellulosic material that has been saccharified.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the cellulosic or lignocellulosic material has had its recalcitrance reduced by treatment with ionizing radiation.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the ionizing radiation is in the form of accelerated electrons.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cellulosic or lignocellulosic biomass has been saccharified utilizing one or more enzymes.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cellulosic or lignocellulosic biomass has been saccharified utilizing one or more acids.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the acid is sulfuric acid.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein an ionic strength of the saccharified biomass liquids prior to electrodialysis is between about 500 and about 50,000 μS/cm, and wherein an ionic strength of the saccharified biomass liquids after electrodialysis in the first electrodialysis system is between 1 and 100 μS/cm.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the salts, partially ionized acids or fully ionized acids removed utilizing the electrodialysis system comprise at least one element selected from the group consisting of P, K, Mg, Na, Ca, S, O, Mn, Al, Zn, Si, Cl and Fe.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising purifying the saccharified biomass liquids by a method selected from the group consisting of chromatography, filtration, centrifugation, precipitation, distillation, complexation and combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein precipitation comprises addition of one or more solvents or non-solvents to precipitate one or more undesired components.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the solvent is selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, acetone, ethyl ether and tetrahydrofuran.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the solvent is methanol.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the saccharified biomass liquids comprise one or more fermentation products.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the saccharified biomass liquids comprise liquids that have had a fermentation product distilled therefrom.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the fermentation product is an alcohol.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the alcohol is ethanol.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising decolorizing the saccharified biomass liquids utilizing a decolorizing agent.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the decolorizing agent is selected from the group consisting of powdered carbon, granular carbon, extruded carbon, bone char carbon, bead activated carbon, stryenic resins, acrylic resins, magnetic resins, decolorizing clays, bentonite, attapulgite, montmorillonite, hormite and combinations thereof.

21. The method of claim 19 , wherein after decolorizing the color of the solution is less than about 100 color units.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein utilizing the first electrodialysis system comprises applying a voltage of between about 10 and 150V across ion selective membranes while flowing the saccharified biomass liquids past the membranes.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the saccharified biomass liquids comprise one or more saccharides.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein the saccharified biomass liquids includes a sugar selected from the group consisting of xylose, glucose, arabinose, fructose and mixtures thereof.

25. The method of claim 24 , wherein the sugar includes xylose and the purity of the xylose after utilizing the first electrodialysis system is at least about 80 wt. %.

26. The method of claim 25 , wherein the sugar includes arabinose and the purity of the arabinose after utilizing the first electrodialysis system is about 0 to 1 wt. %.

Assignees

• Xyleco Inc

Inventors

• Medoff Marshall
• Masterman Thomas Craig
• Mukherjee Maia Stapleton
• Cooper Christopher

Classifications

• G21K5/10

  with provision for relative movement of beam source and object to be irradiated · CPC title

• B01D15/02 Primary

  with moving adsorbents · CPC title

• C12P7/56

  Lactic acid · CPC title

• B01J19/085 Primary

  Electron beams only · CPC title

• B01D61/445 Primary

  with bipolar membranes; Water splitting · CPC title