Biological production of acetic acid from waste gases with Clostridium ljungdahlii
US5807722A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 30, 1994 |
| Grant date | Sep 15, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 30, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E50/30
- WIPO fieldBiotechnology
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A method and apparatus for converting waste gases from industrial processes such as oil refining, carbon black, coke, ammonia, and methanol production, into useful products. The method includes introducing the waste gases into a bioreactor where they are fermented to various organic acids or alcohols by anaerobic bacteria within the bioreactor. These valuable end products are then recovered, separated and purified. In an exemplary recovery process, the bioreactor raffinate is passed through an extraction chamber into which one or more non-inhibitory solvents are simultaneously introduced to extract the product. Then, the product is separated from the solvent by distillation. Gas conversion rates can be maximized by use of centrifuges, hollow fiber membranes, or other means of ultrafiltration to return entrained anaerobic bacteria from the bioreactor raffinate to the bioreactor itself, thus insuring the highest possible cell concentration.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.