Production of products from biomass

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9963727-B2
Application number	US-201314016481-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 3, 2013
Priority date	Dec 22, 2011
Publication date	May 8, 2018
Grant date	May 8, 2018

Abstract

The processes disclosed herein include saccharifying cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic biomass and fermenting the sugars to produce a sugar alcohol.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for making erythritol, said method comprising:
bombarding a lignocellulosic biomass with electrons to reduce the recalcitrance of said lignocellulosic biomass producing a recalcitrance reduced lignocellulosic biomass,
saccharifying said recalcitrance reduced lignocellulosic biomass to produce a slurry comprising glucose and xylose,
combining said slurry with a microorganism selected from the group consisting of CBS 461.67 ( Moniliella pollinis ) and CBS 567.85 ( Moniliella megachiliensis ), and
fermenting said slurry to produce erythritol, while providing aeration from 0.3 to 1.0 VVM and mixing said slurry with a jet mixer,
wherein the amount of xylose in said slurry in said fermenting step is equal to the amount of xylose in said lignocellulosic biomass prior to said saccharifying step.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the concentration of said glucose in said slurry to at least 5 wt. % after said saccharifying step.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said saccharifying step is performed with one or more cellulases.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said lignocellulosic biomass is selected from the group consisting of: wood, particle board, forestry wastes, sawdust, aspen wood, wood chips, grasses, switchgrass, miscanthus , cord grass, reed canary grass, grain residues, rice hulls, oat hulls, wheat chaff, barley hulls, agricultural waste, silage, canola straw, wheat straw, barley straw, oat straw, rice straw, jute, hemp, flax, bamboo, sisal, abaca, corn cobs, corn stover, soybean stover, corn fiber, alfalfa, hay, coconut hair, sugar processing residues, bagasse, beet pulp, agave bagasse, manure, sewage, agricultural or industrial waste, and any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising mechanically treating said lignocellulosic biomass to reduce its bulk density and/or increase its surface area.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising comminuting said lignocellulosic biomass.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein said comminuting is dry milling.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein said comminuting is wet milling.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising culturing said microorganism in a cell growth phase before combining said lignocellulosic biomass with said microorganism.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said electrons are provided at a dose of at least 5 Mrad.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said electrons are provided at a dose of between 5 Mrad to 50 Mrad.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said electrons are provided at a dose of between 20 Mrad to 40 Mrad.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein said electrons are provided at a dose rate of greater than 0.25 Mrad/sec.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein said electrons are provided at a dose rate of between 0.25 to 2 Mrad/sec.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein said electrons are provided at a dose rate of greater than 2 Mrad/sec.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein said jet mixer further comprises an impeller, said impeller rotating at a rate between 400 to 650 revolutions per minute while mixing.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein said jet mixer comprises a shaft, and said method further comprising aerating said slurry through a bore in said shaft.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein said bore provides aeration of 0.6 VVM.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the yield of erythritol is comparable to a yield of erythritol using reagent grade glucose instead of the slurry.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the yield of erythritol using reagent grade glucose is 30% to 40%.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the concentration of sugar in the said slurry is greater than 40 wt %.

22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the concentration of glucose in said slurry prior to fermentation is greater than 10 wt %.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the concentration of glucose in said slurry prior to fermentation is greater than 15 wt %.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein the concentration of glucose in said slurry prior to fermentation is greater than 20 wt %.

Assignees

• Xyleco Inc

Inventors

• Medoff Marshall
• Masterman Thomas Craig
• Moon Jaewoong
• Yoshida Aiichiro

Classifications

• C12P7/20

  Glycerol · CPC title

• C12P19/02

  Monosaccharides (2-ketogulonic acid C12P7/60) · CPC title

• C12P7/18 Primary

  polyhydric · CPC title

• C12P19/14 Primary

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

• Y02E50/10

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