JPS586472B2 - Alcohol manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for producing alcohol using sugars such as disaccharides and monosaccharides, mixtures thereof, or molasses containing these mixtures as a raw material and using yeast as a catalyst.

It is known to produce ethanol using immobilized yeast, such as yeast (Saccharom-yces).
cerevisiae) wrapped in calcium alginate and molded into a long and narrow columnar shape is packed in a column to continuously produce a calcium salt-containing glucose aqueous solution, and yeast (Saccharom-yces c.
It has been reported that ethanol can be continuously produced from a complete medium solution consisting of yeast extract, minerals, and an aqueous glucose solution containing citric acid by forming a packed bed with immobilized yeast that has been encapsulated with carrageenan and molded into granules.

When such immobilized yeast is used for alcohol production, if the particle size is reduced in order to increase the effectiveness coefficient and increase the reaction yield, when a packed bed is formed, the resistance to the liquid phase increases due to the small porosity. This results in a large pressure loss and a decrease in reaction yield.

Furthermore, since immobilized yeast is generally susceptible to mechanical shock, it is not necessarily suitable for forming a fluidized bed in which there is a risk of colliding with each other or with the walls and bottom of the reaction vessel and causing destruction.

It is generally considered advantageous to use inexpensive molasses for industrial production of alcohol.

Molasses contains nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins in addition to a mixture of disaccharides and monosaccharides, and the reaction to obtain alcohol from this is simply shown by the following equation.

As can be seen from this equation (3), equimolar carbon dioxide gas is generated as alcohol, and when a packed bed is formed with immobilized yeast as described above, bubbles of carbon dioxide gas remain in the layer and the immobilized yeast Not only does the wetting area become smaller to further increase the movement resistance of the substrate liquid, but also the alcohol concentration increases, so it is necessary to use alcohol-resistant bacteria as the yeast.

In addition, if carbon dioxide gas remains, dead bacteria quickly lose enzyme activity, so it is necessary to use a complete medium as the liquid phase to give yeast sufficient growth ability and maintain enzyme activity. For this reason, it was considered necessary to contain expensive nitrogen compounds in the culture medium and carry out alcoholic fermentation using immobilized yeast in which viable bacteria were present.

The present invention uses immobilized yeast formed into a plate shape and reinforced with reinforcing material if necessary, and is immersed in a substrate solution consisting of sugar as a raw material and allowed to react while rotating, thereby increasing the solid-liquid mass transfer coefficient and producing This makes it possible to rapidly discharge the carbon dioxide gas produced in the process, thereby making it possible to produce alcohol in high yield without adding nitrogen compounds.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 show the central part of a reinforcing material 3 consisting of a boss 2 made of stainless steel, hard synthetic resin, or glass and having a shaft hole 1, and a circular mesh formed by braiding fine wires of stainless steel or glass. An immobilized yeast 10 is shown in which a yeast layer 4 having a thickness almost equal to the thickness of the boss 2 and slightly larger than the diameter of the reinforcing material 3 is fixed to the reinforcing material 3, and the yeast and the binder are fixed to the reinforcing material 3. A thin protective film 5 is coated on both surfaces of the immobilized yeast 10 in which a reinforcing material 3 is embedded.

FIG. 3 shows a reinforcing frame 3 made of stainless steel, hard synthetic resin, or glass, consisting of a regular hexagonal outer frame 6 and radial arms 7. A boss 2 similar to the above is fixed to the center of the reinforcing frame 3, which is made of a regular hexagonal outer frame 6 and radial arms 7. An immobilized yeast 10 configured by spinning a yeast layer 4 is shown.

These immobilized yeast 10 are preferably made as thin as possible in order to increase the surface area compared to the amount of yeast and improve efficiency and yield, and are made to have a thickness of about 3 to 5 mm, for example, when the diameter is 10 cm.

In addition, a hole 8 through which the generated carbon dioxide gas, inert gas such as nitrogen, hydrogen, and helium supplied as necessary, and the substrate liquid pass through.
A suitable number are provided.

FIG. 4 shows a plurality of, for example, five An example is shown in which sheets of immobilized yeast 10 are arranged horizontally and at approximately equal intervals above and below, and alcohol is produced using this reaction tank 11.

The reaction tank 11 is surrounded by a jaguette 14 and the temperature is adjusted to a constant temperature, and a gas dispersion plate 15 made of a sintered metal plate, a plate with many small holes, etc. is provided at the lower end of the conical bottom. An active gas supply chamber 16 is provided, and a substrate liquid outlet 17 is provided slightly above the active gas supply chamber 16, and a substrate liquid supply port 18 is provided at the top.
and an exhaust port 19.

Raw material sugar such as molasses or sucrose is transferred from the raw material tank 20 to the control valve 21.
, into the reaction tank 11 through the supply port 18 to form a substrate liquid phase having a liquid level above the uppermost immobilized yeast 10,
While the immobilized yeast 10 is rotated by the prime mover 12, the inert gas in the pressure vessel 22 is introduced into the supply chamber 16 via the pressure regulating valve 23 and the supply pipe 24, and is sent into the reaction tank 11 in the form of bubbles through the gas distribution plate 15. .

The substrate liquid and bubbles are stirred by the rotating immobilized yeast 10, and these three phases come into contact with each other evenly, and the inert gas bubbles and the generated carbon dioxide are mixed into the gap between the immobilized yeast 102 and the reaction tank 11 and the immobilized yeast. Chemical yeast 1
The alcohol rises through the hole 8 and is sent from the exhaust port 19 to the cooler 25, where the alcohol entrained by the gas is condensed and stored in a sealed alcohol container 26.

The mixture of carbon dioxide and inert gas is sent to the carbon dioxide absorber 28 through the exhaust gas pipe 27, and the remaining inert gas is sucked by the blower 29 and stored in the container 30, from which it is taken out by the blower 31 and supplied. It is sent to the chamber 16 and circulated, and at that time, it is replenished from the pressure vessel 22 as appropriate.

The substrate liquid in the reaction tank 11 is sent from the outlet 17 to the supply port 18 through a circulation passage 33 having a pump 32, and is circulated in a fixed amount at a time, whereby the alcohol production reaction is carried out batchwise. After the elapse of time or when the alcohol concentration becomes constant, the prime mover 12 and pump 32 are stopped, and the switching valve 34 of the circulation passage 33 connects the outlet 17 to the extraction passage 35 to take out the liquid in the reaction tank 11.

Alternatively, the alcohol production reaction is carried out in a continuous operation by appropriately taking out the produced alcohol from the produced alcohol outlet 36 provided near the liquid surface and replenishing raw materials without circulating it.

In FIG. 5, a drive shaft 43 rotated by a prime mover 42 is horizontally inserted and supported in the center of a horizontal cylindrical reaction tank 41, and the shaft hole 1 of the boss 2 is fitted and fixed onto the drive shaft 43, thereby making it possible to fix a plurality of An example is shown in which fermented yeast 10 are arranged vertically and at approximately equal intervals in the lateral direction, and alcohol is produced using this reaction tank 41.

A porous pipe 42 for feeding inert gas bubbles is installed at the bottom of the reaction tank 41, and a substrate liquid supply port 43 and a take-out port 44 are installed.
, an exhaust port 45 , and a drain port 46 are provided in the reaction tank 41 .

The raw sugar is transferred from the raw sugar 47 to the reaction tank 41 by a pump 48.
The immobilized yeast 10 is rotated by the prime mover 42, and at the same time, inert gas is introduced into the substrate liquid in the form of bubbles from the porous pipe 42.

The substrate liquid and air bubbles are stirred by the rotating immobilized yeast 10, and these three phases come into contact with each other evenly, and the pump 48 is operated to remove the extraction port 44, the stock solution tank 47,
The alcohol production reaction is performed batchwise by circulating the substrate liquid in the reaction tank 41 through the pump 48 and the supply port 43 in that order, and the liquid is taken out from the drain port 46 after a certain period of time or when a certain alcohol concentration is reached.

The inert gas and the generated carbon dioxide are discharged from the exhaust port 45 along with a portion of the alcohol, and the same cooler 25, alcohol container 26, carbon dioxide absorber 28, container 30, and It is equipped with blowers 29, 31 and a pressure vessel 22, and processes similar to those described above are performed by these.

In the above two embodiments, a plurality of drive shafts to which immobilized yeast 10 are attached are provided in parallel and rotated within one reaction tank,
Further, stirring blades may be provided on the drive shaft.

Furthermore, a plurality of reaction vessels may be arranged vertically or horizontally, and one or more immobilized yeast 10 having a common drive shaft may be rotated in each reaction vessel.

As described above, the present invention uses immobilized yeast formed into a plate shape and is immersed in a substrate solution consisting of sugar as a raw material to carry out a reaction while rotating. Therefore, the size and number of pieces to be used can be set appropriately. This makes it possible to sufficiently increase the contact area with the substrate liquid to avoid a decrease in efficiency and yield compared to conventional granular materials, and it also rotates in the liquid without colliding with the walls, bottom, etc. of the reaction tank. Therefore, you can operate it without worrying about damage.
In addition, the rotation agitates the substrate liquid, making good contact with the immobilized yeast, creating a reaction system that has a high solid-liquid mass transfer coefficient and that does not cause an increase in pressure loss of the substrate liquid or a decrease in reaction yield. .

In addition, since the carbon dioxide gas produced during the reaction is discharged and removed from the reaction tank, the reaction shown in equation (3) above proceeds in the right direction, and the alcohol production reaction is carried out advantageously. Since the supplied inert gas is discharged together with carbon dioxide gas, the high concentration of alcohol in the substrate liquid is automatically controlled and adjusted, resulting in the effect that there is no need to use alcohol-resistant bacteria as yeast. .

Furthermore, since the immobilized yeast is rotating, and as a result, the substrate liquid is stirred while washing the surface, carbon dioxide gas evaporates onto the surface of the immobilized yeast or stagnates in the substrate liquid, causing contact between the immobilized yeast and the substrate liquid. There is no inconvenience of interfering with the process, and since the enzymes in the immobilized yeast are sequentially discharged and removed, the active life of each enzyme in the immobilized yeast is extended. No need to use, inexpensive
Alcohol can be produced with high efficiency and high yield.

Next, test results of the present invention will be described.

Cultured yeast (Saccharomyces cere
visiae) was separated by high-speed centrifugation (moisture 80
%) per 1g of acrylamide monomer 0.2g, N,N
'-Menthylenebisacrylamide 0.05g, 2.5
0.4 cc of wt% potassium persulfate and 0.4 cc of 5 wt% dimethylaminoviropionitrile were added, fixed to a reinforcing material made of 100 mesh stainless steel net, and made into a disc-shaped container with a diameter of 95 mm and a thickness of 3 mm. Make immobilized yeast.

[Test 1] A drive shaft equipped with five pieces of immobilized yeast is inserted into a vertical cylindrical reaction tank with an inner diameter of 13.5 cm as shown in Figure 4, and the total volume of the substrate liquid and immobilized yeast becomes 1070 cm3. Pour the substrate solution as shown, keep the solution temperature at 30℃, and incubate for 150r. p. Circulating fluid at 1300 cm3/h while rotating the immobilized yeast at
The substrate liquid was circulated at a rate of 216 cm3/h of feed liquid.

However, inert gas is not supplied.

When a part of the circulating fluid was taken out using a substrate solution containing 0.2 mol/l glucose, the sum of glucose and fructose was 0.12 mol/l and alcohol 0.6 (W) after steady state.
/V)% of liquid was delivered.

In addition, in a substrate solution containing 0.1 mol/l of sucrose, the sum of glucose and fructose is 0.13 mol/l, and sucrose is 0.25 mol/l.
A liquid containing mol/l and 0.3 (W/V)% alcohol was delivered.

[Test 2] A drive shaft equipped with 30 pieces of immobilized yeast was inserted into a vertical cylindrical reaction tank with an inner diameter of 12 cm and a height of 40 cm as shown in Figure 4, and the sum of the volumes of the substrate solution and the immobilized yeast was A substrate solution was added so that the volume was 3000 cm3, and the operation was carried out under the same conditions as in Test 1 above.

After steady state using a substrate solution containing 0.2 mol/l of glucose, fructose 0.02 mol/l and alcohol 1.7 (
w/v)% liquid was delivered.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of an example of immobilized yeast used in the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view, and FIG. 4 and 5 are partially cutaway explanatory views showing different embodiments of the present invention. 2...Boss, 3...Reinforcement material, 4...
... Yeast layer, 10 ... Immobilized yeast, 11 ...
...Reaction tank, 17... Outlet, 18...
1. Supply port, 19... Exhaust port, 41...
・Reaction tank, 43... Supply port, 44...
Outlet, 45...exhaust port.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for producing alcohol, which comprises immersing an immobilized yeast formed in a plate shape in a substrate solution consisting of sugar as a raw material in a reaction tank and rotating it, and removing the generated carbon dioxide gas from the reaction tank. .