WO2012085684A2 - Integrated processing plants - Google Patents
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- WO2012085684A2 WO2012085684A2 PCT/IB2011/003310 IB2011003310W WO2012085684A2 WO 2012085684 A2 WO2012085684 A2 WO 2012085684A2 IB 2011003310 W IB2011003310 W IB 2011003310W WO 2012085684 A2 WO2012085684 A2 WO 2012085684A2
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
- C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
- C12M43/00—Combinations of bioreactors or fermenters with other apparatus
- C12M43/08—Bioreactors or fermenters combined with devices or plants for production of electricity
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E50/00—Technologies for the production of fuel of non-fossil origin
- Y02E50/10—Biofuels, e.g. bio-diesel
Definitions
- This invention relates to industrial plants for processing of lignin and/or cellulose and/or sugars.
- woody materials such as wood and co-products of wood processing and residues of processing agricultural products, e.g. corn stover and cobs, sugar cane bagasse and empty fruit bunches from palm oil production as well as "energy crops” that generate low-cost rapid growing biomass (e.g. switch grass).
- woody materials contain cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin as the main components and are also referred to as Hgnocellulose or lignocellulosic material. Such material also contains mineral salts (ashes) and organic compounds, such as tall oils.
- Cellulose and hemicellulose which together form 65-80% of lignocellulosic materials, are polysaccharides and their hydrolysis forms carbohydrates suitable for fermentation and/or chemical conversion to products of interest.
- Cellulose which typically forms more than one half of the polysaccharides content, has a crystalline structure while hemicellulose does not.
- a broad aspect of the invention relates to integration of two, optionally three industrial processing units into an integrated plant.
- integration indicates a proximity of less than 5 kilometerss.
- One aspect of some embodiments of the invention relates to transfer of materials between a hgnocellulose processing unit and a sugar processing unit. According to various exemplary embodiments of the invention the transfer may be in either direction.
- sugars produced by hydrolysis and/or co-products from a lignocellulosic substrate are transferred to the sugar processing unit.
- unprocessed sugars and/or other sugar processing co-products are transferred from the sugar processing unit to the Hgnocellulose processing unit.
- Another aspect of some embodiments of the invention relates to transfer of materials between a Hgnocellulose processing unit and a lignin processing unit.
- the transfer can be in either direction.
- lignin and/or co-products from a lignocellulosic substrate are transferred to the lignin processing unit.
- lignin products and/or other lignin processing co-products are transferred from the lignin processing unit to the Hgnocellulose processing unit.
- Another aspect of some embodiments of the invention relates to transfer of materials between a sugar processing unit and a lignin processing unit.
- the transfer can be in either direction.
- lignin products and/or lignin co-products are transferred to the sugar processing unit.
- sugar products and/or sugar processing co-products are transferred from the lignin processing unit to the sugar processing unit.
- An additional aspect of some embodiments of the invention relates to transfer of energy between the various unit types described above.
- the energy is transferred as heat energy (e.g. in the form of steam).
- energy is transferred as electric current.
- one or more generators provide heat from combustion of a co- product.
- An additional aspect of some embodiments of the invention relates to integration of waste water treatment for waste streams various unit types described above.
- a waste water treatment unit processes waste streams from two, or even three different unit types described above.
- the waste water treatment unit is physically located in a different unit type.
- an integrated plant including: (a) one or more lignocellulose processing units producing one or more sugar streams and one or more lignin streams; (b) one or more lignin-processing units processing one or more of the lignin streams into a lignin product; and (c) one or more sugar processing units processing one or more of the sugar streams into a sugar product;(d) at least one transfer mechanism transferring one or more of the sugar stream(s) to one or more of the sugar processing units over a distance of 5 km or less; and (e) at least one transfer mechanism transferring the lignin stream from one or more of the lignocellulose processing units to one or more of the lignin processing units over a distance of 5 km or less.
- the lignocellulose processing units produce or more lignocellulose co-products.
- the plant include one or more second sugar processing units processing one or more second sugars into one or more second sugar products.
- the plant includes at least one energy transfer mechanism transferring energy between units in at least one relationship selected from the group consisting of: (i) from at least one lignocellulose processing unit to at least one lignin processing unit; (ii) from at least one lignocellulose processing unit to at least one sugar processing unit; (iii) from at least one sugar processing unit to at least one lignin processing unit; (iv) from at least one sugar processing unit to at least one lignocellulose processing unit; (v) from at least one lignin processing unit to at least one sugar processing unit; and (vi) from at least one lignin processing unit to at least one lignocellulose processing unit.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring a material from one or more of the lignin processing units to one or more other units.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring a material from one or more of the lignin processing units to one or more of the second sugar processing units.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring a material from at least one unit of the second sugar processing units to one or more other units.
- one or more sugar processing units in the plant is adapted to separate a sugar processing co-product from the sugar product.
- one or more of the sugar processing units in the plant includes one or more chemical sugar conversion modules adapted to chemically convert a sugar to a fermentable intermediate.
- the plant includes one or more conversion modules adapted to convert at least one sugar product produced by fermentation into a converted product.
- at least one of the one or more sugar processing units in the plant includes a recovery module adapted to recover unprocessed sugars.
- the one or more conversion modules adapted to convert at least one sugar product produced by fermentation into a converted product.
- at least one of the one or more sugar processing units in the plant includes a recovery module adapted to recover unprocessed sugars.
- the one or more conversion modules adapted to convert at least one sugar product produced by fermentation into a converted product.
- at least one of the one or more sugar processing units in the plant includes a recovery module adapted to recover unprocessed sugars.
- the one or more recovery module adapted to recover unprocessed sugars.
- lignocellulose processing units in the plant includes one or more acid hydrolysis modules.
- the plant includes one or more waste water treatment units processing one, two or three members of the group consisting of: one or more waste streams from one or more of the lignocellulose processing units; one or more waste streams from one or more of the lignin processing units; and one or more waste streams originating from one or more of the sugar processing units.
- the plant includes one or more generators generating heat from combustion of at least one of the co-products.
- the plant includes one or more heat transfer mechanisms transferring heat from the generator to one or more other units.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring one or more of the lignocellulose co-products to one or more other units.
- the lignocellulose co-product includes acetic acid and the plant includes an acetic acid transfer mechanism transferring acetic acid to one or more other units.
- the lignocellulose co-product includes methanol and the plant includes a methanol transfer mechanism transferring methanol to one or more other units.
- the lignocellulose co-product includes one or more tall oils and the plant includes a tall oil transfer mechanism transferring at least one of the one or more tall oils to one or more other units.
- the plant includes an acid transfer mechanism transferring acid from an acid recovery module of the one or more lignin processing units to one or more other units.
- the plant includes a solvent transfer mechanism transferring solvent from a solvent recovery module of the one or more lignin processing units to one or more other units.
- the plant includes one or more acid-recycle modules adapted to recover acid from one or more lignin processing units and return the acid to one or more other units.
- the plant includes a hydrogen transfer mechanism transferring hydrogen from one or more of the lignin processing units to one or more other units.
- the plant produces a lignin stream including liquefied lignin.
- the one or more lignocellulose processing units process at least 10 tons of lignocellulose per hour.
- the at least one transfer mechanism transfers at least 30,000 tons of sugar/yr from the one or more lignocellulose processing units to the one or more sugar processing units.
- an integrated plant comprising: (a) one or more lignocellulose processing units producing one or more sugar streams, each sugar stream including one or more sugars; (b) one or more sugar processing units processing one or more sugars from one or more of the sugar streams into a sugar product; and (c) at least one transfer mechanism transferring one or more of the sugar stream(s) to one or more of the sugar processing units over a distance of 5 km or less.
- one or more of the lignocellulose processing units in the plant includes a module which produces one or more lignocellulose co-products.
- the lignocellulose co-product includes acetic acid and the plant includes an acetic acid transfer mechanism transferring acetic acid to one or more of the sugar processing units.
- the lignocellulose co-product includes methanol and the plant includes a methanol transfer mechanism transferring methanol to one or more of the sugar processing units.
- the lignocellulose co-product includes one or more tall oils and the plant includes a tall oil transfer mechanism transferring at least one of the one or more tall oils to one or more of the sugar processing units.
- the one or more sugar processing units include one or more first sugar processing modules processing a first sugar into a first sugar product and one or more second sugar processing modules processing a second sugar into one or more second sugar products.
- the plant includes at least one transfer mechanism transferring one or more of the sugar stream(s) to one or more of the second sugar processing modules.
- the plant includes at least one transfer mechanism transferring a material from one or more of the sugar processing units to one or more of the lignocellulose processing units.
- the plant includes at least one transfer mechanism transferring a sugar product to one or more sugar product processing modules.
- the one or more lignocellulose processing units includes one or more acid hydrolysis modules.
- the plant includes one or more waste water treatment units processing one or more waste streams from one or more of the
- the plant includes one or more generators generating heat from combustion of at least one of the co-products.
- the plant includes a heat transfer mechanism transferring heat from the generator to one unit from one or more other units.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring one or more of the lignocellulose co-products to one or more of the sugar processing units.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring one or more sugar processing co-products from one or more of the sugar processing units to one or more other units.
- the material includes one or more sugar processing co-products.
- the material includes one or more sugar processing products.
- the one or more lignocellulose processing units of the plant process at least 10 tons of lignocellulose per hour.
- the at least one transfer mechanism transfers at least 30,000 tons of sugar/yr from the one or more lignocellulose processing units to the one or more sugar processing units of the plant.
- an integrated plant including: (a) one or more lignocellulose processing units producing at least one lignin stream; (b) one or more lignin-processing units processing lignin from the at least one lignin stream into a lignin product; and (c) at least one transfer mechanism transferring the lignin stream from one or more of the lignocellulose processing units to one or more of the lignin processing units over a distance of 5 km or less.
- one or more of the one or more lignocellulose processing units produce one or more co-products selected from the group consisting of tall oils, ash, resins, pitch and furfurals.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring a material from one or more of the lignin processing units to one or more of the lignocellulose processing units.
- the plant includes an acid transfer mechanism transferring acid from an acid recovery module of the one or more lignin processing units to one or more of the lignocellulose processing units.
- the plant includes a solvent transfer mechanism transferring solvent from a solvent recovery module of the one or more lignin processing units to one or more of the lignocellulose processing units.
- the plant includes one or more acid-recycle modules adapted to recover acid from one or more lignin processing units and return the acid to the one or more of the lignocellulose processing units.
- the plant includes one or more waste-water treatment units treating one or more waste streams from one or more lignocellulose processing units and/or from one or more lignin processing units.
- the plant includes a generator generating heat from combustion of at least one of the co-products.
- the plant includes a heat transfer mechanism transferring heat from the generator from one unit to one or more other units.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring one or more of the co-products from one or more of the lignocellulose processing units to one or more other units.
- the plant includes one or more transfer mechanisms transferring a waste stream from one or more of the lignin processing units to one or more of the waste-water treatment units.
- the plant includes one or more transfer mechanisms transferring a lignin processing co-product from one or more of the lignin processing units to one or more of the lignocellulose processing units.
- the plant includes one or more transfer mechanisms transferring at least a portion of the lignin product from one or more of the lignin processing units to one or more of the lignocellulose processing units.
- the one or more lignocellulose processing units of the plant have a processing capacity of at least 10 tons of lignocellulose per hour.
- the transfer mechanism of the plant transfers at least 10,000 tons of lignin/yr from the lignocellulose processing unit(s) to the lignin-processing unit(s).
- an integrated plant comprising: (a) one or more lignin-processing units processing one or more lignin streams; and
- the plant includes one or more additional sugar processing units processing sugar into one or more additional sugar products.
- the plant includes at least one transfer mechanism transferring one or more materials between one or more of the additional sugar processing units and one or more of the lignin processing units over a distance of 5 km or less in either direction.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring a material from one or more of the sugar processing units to one or more of the additional sugar processing units.
- the plant includes a hydrogen transfer mechanism transferring hydrogen from one or more of the lignin processing units to one or more of the sugar processing units.
- the material includes liquefied lignin.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring a material from one or more of the sugar processing units to one or more of the lignin processing units.
- the material includes a solvent produced by an aqueous phase reforming (APR) module in one or more of the sugar processing units.
- APR aqueous phase reforming
- the material includes an alcohol.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring a material from one or more of the lignin processing units to one or more of the additional sugar processing units.
- the material includes hydrogen.
- the material includes liquefied lignin.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism transferring a material from at least one unit of the sugar processing units into one or more of the lignin processing units.
- the plant includes one or more waste water treatment units processing at least one stream, optionally two streams, selected from the group consisting of: one or more waste streams from one or more of the lignin processing units; and one or more waste streams originating from one or more of the sugar processing units.
- the plant includes one or more generators generating heat from combustion of at least one of the co-products.
- the plant includes a heat transfer mechanism transferring heat from the generator to one or more other units.
- the one or more sugar processing units have a processing capacity of at least 3 tons of sugar per hour.
- method refers to manners, means, techniques and procedures for accomplishing a given task including, but not limited to, those manners, means, techniques and procedures either known to, or readily developed from known manners, means, techniques and procedures by practitioners of architecture and/or computer science.
- Percentages (%) of chemicals and/or reagents and/or ingredients are W/W (weight per weight) unless otherwise indicated.
- Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of an integrated plant according to various exemplary embodiments of the invention.
- Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of an exemplary lignocellulose processing unit of an integrated plant according to Fig. 1 depicting exemplary modules in greater detail;
- Fig. 3a is a schematic representation of an exemplary sugar processing unit of an integrated plant depicting serially arranged exemplary sugar processing modules in greater detail;
- Fig. 3b is a schematic representation of an exemplary sugar processing unit of an integrated plant depicting a parallel arrangement of exemplary sugar processing modules in greater detail;
- Fig. 3c is a schematic representation of an exemplary sugar processing unit of an integrated plant depicting an alternate serial arrangement of exemplary sugar processing modules in greater detail
- Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of an integrated plant with an optional waste water processing unit according to some exemplary embodiments of the invention
- Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of an exemplary lignin processing unit of an integrated plant depicting exemplary modules in greater detail;
- Fig. 6 is a schematic representation of an integrated plant with optional energy transfer mechanisms depicted.
- Fig. 7 is a schematic representation of another exemplary integrated plant with multiple sugar processing units according to some embodiments of the invention.
- Embodiments of the invention relate to integrated processing plants which include at least two unit types selected from among: lignocellulose processing units; sugar processing units and lignin processing units.
- some embodiments of the invention can be used to hydrolytically process a lignocellulosic substrate and further process resultant lignin and/or sugars into products and/or co-products.
- Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of various exemplary embodiments of the invention indicating various types of processing units and some of the possible relationships between them indicated generally as integrated plant 100.
- Depicted exemplary integrated plant 100 includes three types of processing units: Lignocellulose processing unit 110, sugar processing unit 210 and lignin processing unit 310.
- Each of these units includes multiple functional modules. Exemplary functional modules belonging to the various units are described hereinbelow. Additional exemplary embodiments of the invention include two of these three units. Alternatively or additionally, more than one of any of the three unit types may be provided in an integrated plant in some embodiments.
- lignocellulose processing unit 1 10 processes a lignocellulosic substrate 101 to produce one or more sugar streams 120 and one or more lignin streams 130.
- the processing includes hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose by various means.
- the hydrolysis is with a mineral acid, for example HC1 .
- Lignocellulosic substrate 101 can include, for example, one or more of: softwood chips, hardwood chips, whole tree chips from softwood or hardwood, grass, agricultural residue, cork, energy crops, cassava residues, municipal solid waste, industrial solid waste, sludge from paper manufacture, yard waste, forestry waste, field remains and crop processing residues.
- Field remains include, but are not limited to, corn stover and post harvest plants (e.g. soybean and/or cotton and/or rapeseed).
- Crop processing residues includes, but is not limited to sugar cane bagasse and empty palm fruit bunches.
- lignocellulose processing units and/or exemplary modules belonging to such units are described in co-pending applications PCT/US2011/057552; PCT/US2011/046153; PCT/US2011/064237; IL 211093; US 61/524839; US 61/533088 and US 61/539873; each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
- sugar processing unit 210 processes sugar steam
- sugar processing unit 120 (only one is depicted for simplicity, although two or more may actually be produced) to produce one or more sugar products 220.
- Exemplary sugar processing methods and systems suitable for use in sugar processing unit 210 are described in co-pending application PCT/US2011/050435 which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
- lignin processing unit 310 processes lignin stream 130 (only one is depicted for simplicity, although two or more may actually be produced) to produce one or more lignin products 320.
- Exemplary lignin processing methods and modules suitable for use in lignin processing unit 310 are described in co-pending applications PCT/IL2011/000424; US 61/552402; US 61/552402; US 61/559529 and US 61/561181; each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
- various transfer mechanisms transfer materials and/or energy from one unit to another. These mechanisms are depicted as arrows between units for simplicity, although in actual embodiments the mechanisms often transfer material (or energy) from a specific module in a unit of origin to a specific module in a receiving unit.
- transfer mechanism includes, but is not limited to, pipes and/or pumps and/or conveyor belts and/or flow regulators and/or flow splitters and/or tanks and/or carts and/or trucks and/or trains. According to various exemplary embodiments of the invention a transfer mechanism transfers a material and/or energy over a distance of less than 5.01 km, 4 km, 3 km, 2 km, 1 km, 500 m, or even 250 m or intermediate or shorter distances.
- transfer mechanism 202 transfers one or more sugar streams 120 to one or more sugar processing units 210.
- transfer mechanism 302 transfers one or more lignin streams 120 to one or more lignin processing units 310.
- transfer mechanism 222 transfers one or more material between one or more sugar processing units 210 and one or more lignin processing units 310.
- an integrated plant includes one or more lignocellulose processing units 110 (Fig. 1) producing one or more sugar streams 120 (each sugar stream including one or more sugars) and one or more sugar processing units 210 processing one or more sugars from one or more of sugar streams 120 into one or more sugar product 220 and at least one transfer mechanism 202 transferring one or more of sugar stream(s) 120 to one or more of sugar processing units 210 over a distance of 5 km or less.
- Fig. 2 depicts an exemplary lignocellulose processing unit 110 in greater detail.
- Figs. 3a, 3b and 3c depict exemplary sugar processing units 210 in greater detail (indicated as 210a; 210b and 210c respectively).
- sugar stream 120 is a hydro lyzate resulting from hydrolysis of substrate 101 in lignocellulose processing unit 110.
- sugar stream 120 includes two or more separate streams.
- one or more of streams 120 is enriched for hemicellulose sugars and one or more other streams 120 is enriched for glucose.
- lignocellulose processing unit 110 includes one or more hydrolysis reaction modules (140; Fig 2).
- hydrolysis reaction modules 140 perform hydrolysis with a mineral acid, hydrolysis with a reactive fluid or enzymatic hydrolysis.
- reactive fluid has the meaning ascribed to it in WO 2010/009343; paragraph [0058]:
- the reactive fluid may be a liquid, a gas, a supercritical fluid, or a mixture of these.
- Supercritical, near critical, and sub-critical fluids are reactive fluids, illustrative examples including but not limited to sub-critical water, near critical water, supercritical water, supercritical ethanol, and supercritical CO2.
- WO 2010/009343 is fully incorporated herein by reference.
- Exemplary hydrolysis condition are described in PCT/US2011/057552; WO 2010/009343; WO 2011/091044; WO 2010/113130; US 4,349,66; US 4,608,245; US 4,837,315; US 5,188,673; US 5,176,832; US 5,580,389; US 4,384,897; US 4,278,471; US 4,237,110; US 4,608,245; US 4,645,658; US 5,782,982 ; US 5,580,389; US 5,820,687; US 6,419,828; US 4,237,110; each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
- lignocellulose processing unit 110 pre-treats substrate 101 prior to introducing the substrate into hydrolysis module 140.
- Fig. 2 is a more detailed schematic representation of lignocellulose processing unit 110 according to some embodiments of the invention which depicts exemplary pre-treatments, and their corresponding modules. According to various embodiments of the invention the various optional pretreatments can be performed serially in any order and/or concurrently.
- a transfer mechanism (not depicted) delivers substrate 101 to a thermo-mechanical treatment module 112 of lignocellulose processing unit 110 which applies a predetermined pressure -temperature-time profile to substrate 101.
- the predetermined pressure-temperature -time profile includes steam explosion and/or expeller treatment (e.g. using a plug screw feeder) and/or ammonia fiber explosion (AFEX).
- the plug screw feeder treatment includes use of an impressafmer apparatus (Andritz; Graz, Austria).
- a description of AFEX is provided by Taherzade and Karimi (Int. J. Mol. Sci. (2008) 9: 1621-1651) which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
- predetermined pressure-temperature-time profiles are described in co-pending applications US 61/552,402 and US 61/558,374; each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
- application of a predetermined pressure -temperature-time profile produces a disrupted substrate.
- thermo-mechanical treatment module 112 transfers substrate 101 to a water wash module 114.
- Water wash module 114 washes substrate 101 with an aqueous solution, optionally containing a weak acid (e.g. sulfurous and/or acetic and/or phosphorous acid).
- a weak acid e.g. sulfurous and/or acetic and/or phosphorous acid
- liquid exits water wash module 114 as a separate sugar stream 120b which is transferred by a transfer mechanism 202b to sugar processing unit 210.
- sugar stream 120b is rich in hemicellulose sugars such as xylose, arabinose and mannose.
- water wash module 114 transfers substrate 101 to a solvent wash module 116.
- Solvent wash module 116 washes substrate 101 with a water soluble organic solvent, optionally containing a weak acid (e.g. sulfurous and/or acetic and/or phosphorous acid).
- the solvent is provided as a re-cycled extractant containing a mixture of solvent and water.
- the solvent includes an alcohol and/or ketone with less than 5 carbon atoms.
- the solvent includes acetone.
- Liquid exiting solvent wash module 116 is a solvent/water miscella including lignocellulose co-products 117.
- Co-products 117 may include, for example, resin(s) and/or pitch and/or tall oil(s) and/or terpene(s) and/or other volatile organic compound(s) and/or proteinaceous materials and/or ash.
- the qualitative and/or quantitative composition of co- products 117 may vary depending upon wash conditions in modules 116 and/or 114 and/or the nature of the thermo-mechanical treatment applied in module 112 and/or the initial composition of substrate 101.
- Solvent wash module 116 transfers the miscella containing co-products 117 to a co-products processing module 150.
- co-products processing module 150 separates co-products 117 from solvent and/or water and/or from one another. This separation process is described in greater detail in co-pending application PCT/US2011/064237; which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
- Co-products processing module 150 provides one or more effluent streams to one or more transfer mechanisms.
- co-products processing module 150 transfers one or more co-products 1 17 to sugar processing unit 210 via co-products transfer mechanism 202c.
- one or more co-products 117 are anaerobically digested, either in co-products processing module 150 or in a separate module (e.g. in sugar processing unit 210).
- co-products processing module 150 transfers one or more co-products 117 to lignin processing unit 310 via co-products transfer mechanism 303.
- Exemplary co-products 117 include, but are not limited to, furfurals, tall oils, resins, pitch, ash, methanol and acetic acid.
- lignocellulose co-products 117 includes acetic acid and transfer mechanism 202c functions as an acetic acid transfer mechanism transferring acetic acid to one or more of sugar processing units 210.
- unit 210 processes acetic acid to make ethyl acetate.
- lignocellulose co-products 117 include methanol and transfer mechanism 202c functions as a methanol transfer mechanism transferring methanol to one or more of sugar processing units 210.
- unit 210 processes methanol with one or more fatty acids (e.g. by fermentation) to make methyl esters.
- the resultant methyl esters are used for biodiesel.
- lignocellulose co-products 117 include one or more tall oils and transfer mechanism 202c functions as a tall oil transfer mechanism transferring tall oils to one or more of sugar processing units 210.
- unit 210 processes methanol with one or more fatty acids (e.g. by fermentation) to make methyl esters.
- processing units 210 processes the tall oils with methyl esters (e.g. for biodiesel production).
- lignocellulose processing unit includes a lignin liquefaction module 118 which dissolves and/or de-polymerizes lignin in substrate 101.
- dissolving and/or de-polymerizing lignin includes contacting with an alkaline solution (e.g. ammonia) and/or an organic solvent and module 118 includes components which provide the solution and/or solvent and perform the contacting.
- the solvent includes an aqueous phase reforming (APR) product.
- APR aqueous phase reforming
- this module produces lignin stream
- lignin liquefaction module 118 employs ammonia to dissolve lignin.
- this ammonia is recovered in lignin processing unit 310 (e.g. by an ammonia distillation module) and recycled by an ammonia transfer mechanism (not depicted) to module 118 for re-use.
- lignin liquefaction module 118 transfers residual cellulose from substrate 101 to hydrolysis module 140.
- Hydrolysis module 140 hydro lyzes the cellulose to soluble sugars (typically a mixture of monomeric glucose and oligomers) to produce sugar stream 120a.
- sugar stream 120b has not been previously removed, and a single sugar stream 120 containing hemicellulose and cellulose sugars exits hydrolysis module 140.
- Transfer mechanism 202a transfers the sugar stream exiting hydrolysis module 140 to sugar processing unit 210.
- Hydrolysis module 140 is depicted as a single unit producing sugar stream 120a for clarity. However, in many embodiments, hydrolysis module 140 contains many sub-modules.
- hydrolysis module 140 may include a main hydrolysis reactor as described in PCT/US2011/057552 operating in co-operation with a de-acidification module 142 and solvent recycling module 144 as described in PCT/US2011/046153.
- Modules 142 and/or 144 recycle HC1 to hydrolysis module 140 for re-use in processing additional substrate 101.
- this recycling includes extraction of the HC1 with a solvent.
- the solvent is treated with lime to remove contaminants.
- this recycling includes distillation.
- distillation equipment in lignocellulose processing unit 110 also receives and processes streams originating in lignin processing unit 310 (Fig. 1).
- hydrolysis module 140 optionally incorporates solvent extraction with secondary hydrolysis and/or ion exchange separation as described in IL 211093 and/or US 61/524839 and/or US 61/533088 and/or US 61/539873.
- solvent extraction with secondary hydrolysis and/or ion exchange separation as described in IL 211093 and/or US 61/524839 and/or US 61/533088 and/or US 61/539873.
- sugar processing unit 210 According to various exemplary embodiments of the invention sugar processing unit 210
- Fig. 1 performs processing including biological processing (e.g. fermentation) and/or chemical processing (optionally catalyzed reactions) and/or enzymatic reactions.
- a fermentation product is subject to chemical conversion.
- chemical processing is hydrogenation of sugars to form corresponding alcohols (e.g. xylose to xylitol and/or glucose to sorbitol and/or a mixture of sugars to "polyol molasses").
- multiple processing reactions are conducted.
- these multiple processing reactions are conducted in parallel and/or in series (either within a single sugar processing unit, or in multiple modules of a single sugar processing unit).
- a single sugar processing unit 210 includes two or more fermentation modules arranged in series or two or more fermentation modules arranged in parallel.
- a single sugar processing unit 210 includes a fermentation module followed by chemical processing module which processes unfermented sugars.
- _hemicellulose sugars are processed separately from cellulose sugars (see sugar streams 120b and 120a of Fig. 2 and accompanying explanation)
- Fig. 3 a is a schematic representation of an exemplary sugar processing unit indicated generally as 210a.
- Depicted exemplary module 210a includes sugar processing modules (230 and 240) arranged in series.
- one or more first sugar processing modules 230 processes a first sugar delivered by transfer mechanism 202 as part of sugar stream 120 into a first sugar product 220a.
- sugar stream 120 includes glucose and first sugar processing module 230 is a fermentation module containing microorganisms that ferment glucose to produce first sugar product 220a in the form of ethanol.
- the ethanol can be separated from unprocessed sugars 232, for example by distillation.
- unprocessed sugars 232 contain one or more potentially valuable sugars which can be recovered as described below.
- first sugar processing module 230 is a fermentation module
- unprocessed sugars 232 may be present as part of a spent culture medium containing non-sugar nutrients and/or cellular material.
- some or all of the non-sugar nutrients and/or cellular material are removed and transferred by transfer mechanism 260a to an additional processing module.
- a portion of the cellular material can be returned to first sugar processing module 230 for an additional round of fermentation.
- non-sugar nutrients and/or cellular material can be routed to a chemically catalyzed processing unit (optionally located in lignin processing unit 310 and/or in sugar processing unit 210, Fig. 1).
- separation includes crystallization of un-processed sugars and/or centrifugation and/or filtration.
- crystallization of un-processed sugars is facilitated by adding ethanol formed by fermentation in first sugar processing module 230.
- Depicted exemplary sugar processing unit 210a also includes one or more second sugar processing modules 240 processing a second sugar into one or more second sugar products 220b.
- second sugar processing modules 240 perform biological and/or chemical and/or enzymatic processes.
- the second sugar is xylose.
- the xylose is crystallized from the unprocessed sugars 232 and separated as described above and second sugar processing module 240 hydrogenates the xylose to form second sugar product 220b in the form of xylitol.
- any remaining unprocessed sugars 242 are removed and transferred by transfer mechanism 260b to an additional processing module.
- non-sugar material can be routed to a chemically catalyzed processing unit (optionally located in lignin processing unit 310 and/or in sugar processing unit 210, Fig. 1).
- Fig. 3b is a schematic representation of an exemplary sugar processing unit indicated generally as 210b.
- Depicted exemplary module 210b includes sugar processing modules (230 and 240) arranged in parallel to process sugar streams 120a and 120b delivered by transfer mechanisms 202a and 202b respectively.
- 120b contains a relatively high proportion of hemicellulose sugars such as xylose and 120a is glucose rich.
- the processing is similar to that described above for sugar processing unit 210a (Fig. 3 a) except that glucose in sugar stream 120a is fermented to ethanol separately and xylose in sugar stream 120b is crystallized and hydrogenated without prior processing of glucose.
- glucose in sugar stream 120a is subject to homolactic fermentation in first sugar processing module 230 to produce lactic acid as a first sugar product 220a.
- recovery module 231 separates first sugar product 220a (e.g. lactic acid) from unprocessed sugars 232 which are then transferred by transfer mechanism 233.
- transfer mechanism 233 transfers unprocessed sugars 232 to lignin processing unit 310 (Fig. 1) and/or to hydrolysis module 140 (Fig. 2) of lignocellulose processing unit 110.
- oligomeric sugars in unprocessed sugars 232 are hydro lyzed in module 140 to monomeric sugars which return to a sugar processing unit 210 (Fig. 1) as part of a sugar stream 120.
- second sugar processing module 240 crystallizes and hydrogenates mannose in sugar stream 120b to produce second sugar product 220b in the form of mannitol.
- Unprocessed sugars 242 are transferred by transfer mechanism 243, for example to lignin processing unit 310 (Fig. 1) and/or to a chemical conversion module in sugar processing unit 210.
- sugar processing unit 210a includes at least one transfer mechanism 234 transferring a material from one or more of sugar processing units 210a to one or more of lignocellulose processing unit 110 (Fig. 1).
- transfer mechanism 234 transfers ethanol (first fermentation product 220a).
- the ethanol is used in lignin separation and/or as a solvent in solvent wash module 116 (Fig. 2).
- first sugar product 220a is an enzyme produced by fermentation in first sugar processing module 230. In some embodiments, such an enzyme is used to hydrolyze hemicellulose and/or cellulose and/or to treat a waste stream.
- Fig. 3 c is a schematic representation of a sugar processing unit including a sugar product processing module depicted generally as 210c.
- sugar processing involves two or more reactions, only some of which use sugar as an input.
- one or more reactions uses a sugar product (e.g. 220) as an input.
- sugar processing unit 210c includes one or more first sugar processing modules 230 and one or more sugar product processing modules 270.
- transfer mechanism 202 transfers sugar stream 120 to processing module 230.
- sugar processing modules 230 are fermentation modules and sugar product processing modules 270 are chemical conversion modules.
- sugar processing module 230 ferments glucose to produce lactic acid (first sugar product 220a) and sugar product processing module 270 polymerizes lactic acid into converted sugar product 272 in the form of poly-lactic acid (PLA).
- first sugar product 220a first sugar product 220a
- sugar product processing module 270 polymerizes lactic acid into converted sugar product 272 in the form of poly-lactic acid (PLA).
- PLA poly-lactic acid
- first sugar processing module 230 produces isobutanol as first sugar product 220a and sugar product processing module 270 dehydrates the isobutanol to butane and polymerizes the butane to fatty acids.
- the fatty acids can be reacted with methanol in module 270 to produce biodiesel as a final converted sugar product 272.
- transfer mechanism 268 transfers a sugar product (e.g. 220a) to one or more sugar product processing modules 270.
- one first sugar processing module 230 produces acetic acid as first sugar product 220a and another first sugar processing module 230 produces ethanol as first sugar product 220a.
- sugar product processing module 270 produces ethyl acetate (e.g. via Fischer esterification) from ethanol and acetic acid as converted sugar product 272.
- one first sugar processing module 230 produces p-xylene by chemical conversion as first sugar product 220a and another first sugar processing module 230 produces ethanol as first sugar product 220a.
- sugar product processing module 270 converts the ethanol to ethylene and reacts it with the p-xylene to produce PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) as converted sugar product 272.
- transfer mechanism 274 transfers converted sugar product 272 to another module (e.g. a sugar processing module 230 or another sugar product processing module 5 270 or a module in lignin processing unit 310 (Fig. 1) or a module in lignocellulose processing unit 110 (Fig. 1) for additional processing.
- another module e.g. a sugar processing module 230 or another sugar product processing module 5 270 or a module in lignin processing unit 310 (Fig. 1) or a module in lignocellulose processing unit 110 (Fig. 1) for additional processing.
- first sugar processing module 230 is a fermentation module which produces one or more amino acids (e.g. methionine and/or lysine and/or tryptophan and/or valine) as first sugar product 220a.
- transfer mechanism 2680 transfers the amino acid to a feed mill (serving as sugar product processing module 270) where it is combined with other ingredients.
- converted sugar product 272 is a food product or animal feed (e.g. crumbled or pelleted livestock feed).
- transfer mechanism 274 loads the feed into sacks, barrels, trucks or railroad cars.
- first sugar product 220a is an amino acid
- sugar product5 processing module 270 incorporates the amino acid into a culture media which serves as converted sugar product 272.
- transfer mechanism 274 transfers at least a portion of the culture media to one or more fermentors serving as first sugar processing modules 230 and/or second sugar processing modules 240 (e.g. Fig. 3a and 3b).
- Fig. 4 is schematic representation of additional embodiments of an integrated plant0 depicted generally as 400. In the depicted exemplary embodiment, many of the transfer mechanisms depicted in Fig 1 are not shown for clarity, although they may still be present.
- Integrated plant 400 includes at least two of; one or more lignocellulose processing units 110, one or more sugar processing units 210 and one or more lignin processing units 310 as described hereinabove and/or hereinbelow.
- integrated plant 400 includes a waste water processing unit 401.
- waste water processing unit 401 is integrated into lignocellulose processing unit 110 and/or into sugar processing unit 210 and/or into lignin processing unit 310.
- waste water processing unit 401 processes one or more waste streams 410 from one or more of lignocellulose processing units 110.
- water0 processing unit 401 processes one or more waste streams 420 originating from one or more of sugar processing units 210.
- waste water processing unit 401 processes one or more waste streams 430 originating from one or more of lignin processing units 310.
- additional transfer mechanisms convey the described waste streams between the units.
- co-products processing module 150 includes one or more generators generating heat from combustion of at least one of co-products 117.
- generators may be present in other modules and/or in other units.
- Fig. 6 is a schematic depiction of an integrated plant including two, optionally three, of units 110, 210 and 310 as described hereinabove and/or hereinbelow and indicated generally as 600. Fig. 6 indicates transfer of energy between the various units as dotted/dashed arrows.
- one or more heat transfer mechanisms transfer heat from a generator in one unit to another unit.
- six such heat transfer mechanisms are depicted.
- an integrated plant contains zero, one, two, three, four, five or all six of the depicted heat transfer mechanisms.
- heat transfer mechanism 620 transfers energy from lignocellulose processing unit 110 to one or more of sugar processing units 210.
- heat transfer mechanism 620 includes a pipe conducting steam.
- heat transferred by mechanism 620 is used to control temperature in a fermentor and/or to adjust temperature of a chemical reaction.
- an integrated plant includes one or more of the following heat transfer mechanisms:
- a transfer mechanism 202c transfers one or more of co-products 117 to one or more of sugar processing units 210 (e.g. Fig. 1).
- co-product 117 includes furfurals and transfer mechanism 202c transfers them to a sugar product processing module 270 (e.g. Fig. 3c) in sugar processing unit 210.
- module 270 is a multistage processing module of the type described in the section entitled “Exemplary multistage chemical processing" hereinbelow.
- transfer mechanisms 233 and/or 243 transfer one or more sugar processing co-products from one or more of sugar processing units 5 210 (i.e. processing modules 230 and/or 240) to another unit, e.g. lignocellulose processing unit 110 (e.g. Fig. 1).
- unprocessed sugars 233 and/or 242 may be transferred to hydrolysis module 140 (Fig. 2).
- sugar processing module 230 ferments glucose to ethanol (first sugar product 220a), which is recovered 231 by distillation.
- first sugar product 220a the co-0 product is spent culture media including unfermented sugars 232.
- unfermented sugars typically unfermented sugars
- transfer mechanisms 233 and/or 243 transfer unprocessed sugars 232 and/or 242 to hydrolysis module 140 (e.g. Fig. 2) of lignocellulose processing unit 110 for additional hydrolysis.
- transfer mechanism 233 and/or 243 transfers a sugar product (e.g. 220a or 220b) of sugar processing (e.g. 230 and/or 240) to one or more lignocellulose processing units.
- a sugar product e.g. 220a or 220b
- sugar processing e.g. 230 and/or 240
- transfer mechanism 233 and/or 243 transfers a sugar product (e.g. 220a or 220b) of sugar processing (e.g. 230 and/or 240) to one or more lignocellulose processing units.
- the integrated plant includes one or more lignocellulose processing units 110 producing at least one lignin stream 130 and one or more lignin-processing units 310 processing lignin from the at least one lignin stream 130 into a lignin product 320 and at least one transfer mechanism 302 transferring said lignin stream from one or5 more of lignocellulose processing units 110 to one or more of lignin processing unit 310 over a distance of 5 km or less.
- lignin product 320 includes one or more of clean de-acidified lignin (optionally pelletized), carbon fibers, lignosulfonates bio-oil, carboxylic and fatty acids, dicarboxylic acids, hydroxyl-carboxylic,0 hydroxyl di-carboxylic acids and hydroxyl-fatty acids, methylglyoxal, mono-, di- or poly- alcohols, alkanes, alkenes, aromatics, aldehydes, ketones, esters , phenols, toluenes, xylenes (e.g.
- lignin product 320 belongs to one or more of the following categories: dispersants, emulsifiers, complexants, flocculants, agglomerants, pelletizing additives, resins, carbon fibers, active carbon, antioxidants, liquid fuel, aromatic chemicals, vanillin, adhesives, binders, absorbents, toxin binders, foams, coatings, films, rubbers and elastomers, 5 sequestrants, fuels, and expanders.
- the lignin stream 130 is a liquid stream or a slurry, optionally including acid.
- one or more of lignocellulose processing units 110 produces at least one co-product 117 (Fig. 2) selected from the group consisting of tall oils, ash, resins, pitch 10 and furfurals as described hereinabove.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism 311 (Fig. 4) transferring a material from one or more of lignin processing units 310 to one or more of lignocellulose processing units 110.
- Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of an exemplary lignin processing unit 310 depicting
- lignin stream 130 is processed by an acid
- stream 130 is then processed in a co-product separation module 317.
- module 317 removes residual sugars and/or residual cellulose as co-products 319 to produce cleaned lignin 131.
- co-products 319 are transferred by transfer mechanism
- sugar processing unit 210 e.g. Fig. 1
- lignocellulose processing unit 110 e.g. Fig.
- cleaned lignin 131 serves as lignin product 320.
- cleaned lignin is processed in lignin processing module 330 to produce lignin product 320 (e.g. pelleted lignin or carbon fibers).
- lignin 131 is liquefied by lignin liquefaction module 118.
- dissolving and/or depolymerizing lignin includes contacting with an alkaline solution (e.g. ammonia) and/or an organic solvent and module 118 includes components which provide the solution and/or solvent and perform the contacting.
- the solvent includes an APR product.
- depolymerizing lignin includes pyrolysis and/or gasification and/or hydrogenolysis and/or contacting with a supercritical fluid.
- lignin product 320 is transferred by transfer mechanism 31 Id.
- This transfer can be, for example, to a multistage chemical processing module (e.g. sugar processing module 230 (Fig. 3a and/or 3b and/or 3c) or sugar product processing module 270 (Fig. 3c)) as described hereinbelow in the section entitled "Exemplary multistage chemical processing".
- transfer mechanism 31 Id and/or lignin processing module 330 include size fractionation components which allow control of an average molecular weight and/or degree of polydispersity of lignin product 320 being transferred by mechanism 31 Id.
- transfer mechanism 311 includes an acid transfer mechanism 311a transferring acid 314 from an acid recovery module 312 of lignin processing unit 310 to one or more of lignocellulose processing units 110 (e.g. Fig. 2).
- Acid recovery module 312 functions also to recover sugars from lignin stream 130.
- transfer mechanism 31 la transfers sugars to lignocellulose processing unit 110 (e.g. to hydrolysis module 140, Fig. 2) together with acid 314.
- transfer mechanism 311 includes a solvent transfer mechanism 31 lb transferring solvent 318 from a solvent recovery module 316 of lignin processing unit 310 to one or more of lignocellulose processing units 110 (e.g. Fig. 2).
- transfer mechanism 311b includes solvent purification components as described in PCT/ US2011/46153; which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
- solvent purification includes treatment with lime.
- the plant includes one or more acid- recycle modules (not depicted) adapted to recover acid from one or more lignin processing units 310 and return the acid to one or more of lignocellulose processing units 110 (e.g. Fig. 2).
- one or more acid- recycle modules (not depicted) adapted to recover acid from one or more lignin processing units 310 and return the acid to one or more of lignocellulose processing units 110 (e.g. Fig. 2).
- the plant includes a waste water treatment unit 401 treating one or more waste streams 410 from one or more lignocellulose processing units 110 and/or one or more waste streams 430 one or more lignin processing units 310.
- the plant includes a generator (depicted as co-products processing module 150) generating heat from combustion of at least one of co-product 117.
- the heat is provided as steam.
- This steam may be used, for example, for acid recovery (e.g. in hydrolysis module 140 (Fig. 2), de-solventization of wood (e.g. in module 116, Fig. 2) and/or steam explosion (e.g. in module 112, Fig. 2) and/or in lignin processing unit 310.
- the plant includes a heat transfer mechanism 610 transferring heat from the generator to one or more lignin processing units 310.
- mechanism 610 includes a pipe or other conduit transferring steam.
- lignin processing unit 310 includes a generator generating heat from combustion.
- the generator is part of lignin processing module 330 (e.g. Fig. 5).
- module 330 performs pyrolysis and/or gasification of lignin 131.
- the heat is provided as steam. This steam may be used, for example, for acid recovery and/or solvent purification (modules 142 and 144 respectively (Fig. 2)) and/or steam explosion (e.g. in module 112 (Fig. 2)).
- the plant includes a heat transfer mechanism 660 transferring heat from the generator to one or more lignocellulose processing units 110 (Fig. 2).
- mechanism 660 includes a pipe or other conduit transferring steam.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism 303 transferring one or more of co-products 117 from one or more of lignocellulose processing units 110 to one or more of lignin processing units 310 (Fig. 5).
- the plant includes one or more transfer mechanisms transferring a waste stream 430 from one or more of lignin processing units 310 to one or more of waste-water treatment units 401.
- the plant includes one or more transfer mechanisms 311c transferring a lignin processing co-product (e.g. 319 and/or 331) from one or more of lignin processing units 310 to one or more of lignocellulose processing units 110 (Fig. 2).
- co-product 331 may include an alkene.
- the alkene is burned to generate energy in lignocellulose processing unit 110.
- co-product 331 (or 319) may include organic contaminants to be treated in a wastewater processing unit 401 (Fig. 4) associated with lignocellulose processing unit 110.
- the plant includes one or more transfer mechanisms 31 Id transferring at least a portion of lignin product 320 from one or more of lignin processing units 310 to one or more of lignocellulose processing units 110 (Fig. 2).
- transfer mechanisms 31 Id transferring at least a portion of lignin product 320 from one or more of lignin processing units 310 to one or more of lignocellulose processing units 110 (Fig. 2).
- solvents produced by APR may be transferred to a lignin liquefaction module 118 (Fig. 2) in lignocellulose processing unit 110 (Fig. 2).
- the integrated plant includes one or more lignocellulose processing units 110 producing one or more sugar streams 120 and one or more lignin streams 130 and one or more lignin-processing units 310 processing one or more of lignin streams 310 into a lignin product 320 and one or more sugar processing units 210 processing one or more of sugar streams 120 into a sugar product 220 and at least one transfer mechanism 202 transferring one or more of sugar stream(s) 120 the sugar processing units 210 over a distance of 5 km or less and at least one transfer mechanism 302 transferring lignin stream 130 from the lignocellulose processing units 110 to the lignin processing units 310 over a distance of 5 km or less.
- each sugar processing unit 210 can include chemical processing (e.g. multistage chemical processing) and/or biological processing (e.g. fermentation) and/or enzymatic processing.
- lignocellulose processing units 110 optionally produce at least one co-product 117 (Fig. 2).
- sugar processing units 210 include one or more second sugar processing units 210 processing one or more second sugars into one or more second sugar products.
- a single lignocellulose processing unit 110 is integrated with two separate sugar processing units 210 (Fig. 1).
- a single lignocellulose processing unit 110 can include a transfer mechanism 202b transferring sugar stream 120b to one sugar processing unit 210 and a transfer mechanism 202a transferring sugar stream 120a to a different sugar processing unit 210.
- the integrated plant includes at least one energy transfer mechanism transferring energy between the various units.
- energy transfer mechanism 610 transfers energy from at least one lignocellulose processing unit 110 to at least one lignin processing 310.
- energy transfer mechanism 620 transfers energy from at least one lignocellulose processing unit 110 to at least one sugar processing unit 210.
- energy transfer mechanism 630 transfers energy from at least one sugar processing unit 210 to at least one lignin processing unit 310.
- energy transfer mechanism 640 transfers energy from at least one sugar processing unit 210 to at least one lignocellulose processing unit 110.
- energy transfer mechanism 650 transfers energy from at least one lignin processing unit 310 to at least one sugar processing unit 210.
- energy transfer mechanism 660 transfers energy from at least one lignin processing unit 310 to at least one lignocellulose processing unit 110.
- an energy transfer mechanism transfers energy as heat (e.g. as steam flowing through a pipe).
- an energy transfer mechanism transfers energy as electricity (e.g. by using steam to drive a turbine which generates an electric current).
- an energy transfer mechanism transfers energy as mechanical energy (e.g. by using a stream to turn a wheel connected to a drive train).
- Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of an integrated plant including at least one lignin processing unit 310 and at least two sugar processing units 210a and 210 b indicated generally as 700.
- plant 700 includes transfer mechanism 222a transferring a material from one or more of lignin processing units 310 to one or sugar processing units 210a.
- the plant includes one or more transfer mechanisms 222d transferring materials from one or more of lignin processing units 310 one or more different sugar processing units 210b.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism 311 transferring one or more materials from a lignin processing unit 310 to one or more lignocellulose processing units 110 as described in the context of Figs. 4 and 5.
- the plant includes two or more transfer mechanisms 222b and/or 222c transferring materials from two or more separate sugar processing units to one or more lignin processing units 310.
- one or more sugar processing unit 210 is adapted to separate a sugar processing co-product (e.g. un-processed sugars 232 and/or spent culture media) from a sugar product (e.g. 220a) as described hereinabove in the context of Figs. 3a and 3b.
- sugar processing units 210a and/or 210b include transfer mechanisms of the type described as 233 and/or 243 which transfer a sugar product to one or more lignocellulose processing units.
- one or more of sugar processing units 210 includes one or more chemical sugar conversion modules (e.g. sugar processing module 230 (Fig. 3a and/or 3b and/or 5 3 c)) adapted to chemically convert a sugar to a fermentable intermediate prior to fermenting to produce a sugar product.
- sugar processing module 230 converts glucose to maltose.
- an additional sugar processing module e.g. 240 in Fig. 3a ferments maltose to a fermentation product (e.g. lactic acid and/or ethanol).
- the integrated plant includes one or more conversion modules
- sugar product processing module 270 e.g. sugar product processing module 270, Fig. 3c
- a converted product 272 Fig. 3c
- this conversion can occur in the reaction medium or after separation of sugar product 220a.
- sugar product 220a is ethanol
- product processing module 270 Fig. 3c
- sugar product 220a is lactic acid product processing module 270 (Fig. 3c) can convert the lactic acid to polylactic acid and/or related products.
- At least one of sugar processing units 20 210 includes a recovery module 231 adapted to recover unprocessed sugars 232.
- unprocessed sugars may include sugars which were not fermented in processing module 230.
- sugars 232 are recovered as part of a fermentation broth.
- first sugar product 220 is distilled out of the broth as part of recovery 231.
- unprocessed sugars 232 can be separated, e.g. by crystallization.
- unprocessed sugars 25 232 are subject to additional processing, (e.g. sugars 232 may include xylose which can be crystallized and hydrogenated to make xylitol.)
- the integrated plant includes one or more lignin-processing units 310 processing one or more lignin streams 130; and one or more 30 sugar processing units 210 processing one or more sugar streams 120 into one or more sugar products 220 and at least one transfer mechanism 222 transferring one or more materials between one or more of the sugar processing units 210 and one or more of the lignin processing units 310 over a distance of 5 km or less in either direction.
- the sugar processing includes chemical processing (e.g. enzymatic) and/or biological processing (e.g. fermentation).
- the plant includes one or more additional sugar processing units (210a and 210b) processing sugar into one or more additional sugar products (220a and 220b).
- the plant includes at least one transfer mechanism (222c and/or 222d) transferring one or more materials between one or more of additional sugar processing units (210b) and one or more lignin processing units 310 over a distance of 5 km or less in either direction.
- energy transfer mechanisms transfer energy between lignin processing units 310 and sugar processing units 210a and/or 210b in either direction in a manner similar to that described hereinabove in the context of Fig. 6 (630 and/or 650).
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism 222e transferring a material from one or more of sugar processing units 210a to one or more of additional sugar processing units 210b.
- transfer mechanism 222a includes a hydrogen transfer mechanism transferring hydrogen from one or more of lignin processing units 310 to one or more of sugar processing units 210a.
- hydrogen is a lignin product 320 produced by pyrolysis and/or gasification of lignin in lignin processing module 330 (Fig. 5).
- the hydrogen is used in hydrogenolysis and/or hydrogenation of sugars. In some embodiments, this hydrogenolysis and/or hydrogenation of sugars is followed by APR as explained hereinbelow in the section entitled "Exemplary multistage chemical processing".
- transfer mechanism 31 Id (Fig. 5) transfers liquefied lignin as part of lignin product 320 (Fig. 5) to sugar processing unit 210a and/or 210b.
- the liquefied lignin is to hydrogenolysed and/or hydrogenated with sugars and/or is subject to APR and/or is subject to one or more conversion steps together with products of an APR reaction performed on sugars.
- the integrated plant includes one or more transfer mechanisms (e.g. 222b and 222c) transferring a material from one or more of sugar processing units 210a and/or 210b to one or more of lignin processing units 310.
- the material being transferred includes a solvent produced by an Aqueous phase reforming (APR) reaction in a sugar product processing module 270 (Fig. 3c) in one or more of sugar processing units 210a and/or 210b.
- lignin processing module 330 (Fig. 5) employs this solvent as a reagent in processing lignin 131 (Fig. 5).
- transfer mechanisms 222b and/or 222c transfer an alcohol.
- the alcohol is formed by fermentation (e.g. in a sugar processing module 230; Fig. 3c) and/or by APR (e.g. in a sugar product processing module 270; Fig. 3c).
- APR e.g. in a sugar product processing module 270; Fig. 3c.
- acid recovery module 312 uses the alcohol to de-acidify lignin.
- the alcohol can be recovered after use, e.g. by distillation.
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism 222c transferring a material from one or more of lignin processing units 310 to one or more of additional sugar processing unit 210b.
- the material includes hydrogen.
- the hydrogen is used in processing of an APR product to produce a fuel ingredient.
- transfer mechanism 222c transfers liquefied lignin.
- the liquefied lignin is added to APR products and proceeds to catalytic reactions in sugar product processing 270 (Fig. 3c) with products 220 of sugar processing modules 230 (Figs. 3a and/or 3b and/or 3c).
- the plant includes a transfer mechanism (e.g. 222b and/or 222c) transferring a material from at least one sugar processing units 210a and/or 210 b into one or more of lignin processing units 310.
- the material includes polyols (converted sugar product 272; Fig. 3c) produced by sugar product processing (e.g. by hydrogenation).
- lignin liquefaction module 118 (Fig. 5) uses the polyols to dissolve lignin.
- polyols are transferred by a transfer mechanism to lignin liquefaction module 118 (Fig. 2) in lignocellulose processing unit 110 (Fig. 2) which uses them to dissolve lignin prior to hydrolysis 140 (Fig. 2) of cellulose.
- transfer mechanism 260a and/or 260b includes cell separation equipment (e.g. centrifuges and/or filters) which separates cells and/or spent culture media from unprocessed sugars 232 or 242.
- cell separation equipment e.g. centrifuges and/or filters
- transfer mechanism 260a and/or 260b transfers these cells and/or spent culture media to lignin processing module 330 of lignin processing unit 310 (Fig. 5).
- lignin processing module 330 is a multistage chemical processing module as described hereinbelow.
- the one or more lignocellulose processing units 110 process at least 10 tons of lignocellulose per hour.
- an acid hydrolysis module 140 (Fig. 2) has a capacity of at least 1, 2, 3, 5 or even 10 or more tons of substrate/hour.
- the one or more transfer mechanisms 202 transfer at least 30,000 tons of sugar/yr from the one or more lignocellulose processing units 110 to the one or more sugar processing units 210.
- transfer mechanism 302 transfers at least 10,000 tons of lignin/yr from lignocellulose processing unit(s) 110 to lignin-processing unit(s) 320.
- a distillation capacity of acid recovery module 142 (Fig. 2) and/or solvent purification module 144 (Fig. 2) is at least 1, at least 10, or even at least 20 tons/hour.
- the distillation capacity of one or more of these modules is at least 1, at least 10, or even at least 100 cubic meters of liquid to be distilled per hour.
- the one or more sugar processing units 210 have a processing capacity of at least 3 tons of sugar per hour.
- a single processing module depicts a multistage process.
- a multistage process is a multistage chemical conversion process of the type described in a white paper entitled “Production of Conventional Liquid Fuels from Sugars” by Blommel and Cortwright (2008) which is fully incorporated herein by reference. Briefly the white paper describes a three stage process including hydrogenation or hydrogenolysis; Aqueous- Phase Reforming and one or more additional conversion steps to produce a final product.
- APR Aqueous-Phase Reforming
- biomass e.g. glycerol, sugars, sugar alcohols, etc.
- APR methods and techniques are described in US 6,699,457; US 6,953,873; US 6,964,757; US 6,964,758; US 7,618,612 and PCT/US2006/048030; each of which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
- aqueous phase reforming and "APR” generically denote the overall reaction of an oxygenated compound and water to yield a hydrogen stream, regardless of whether the reactions takes place in the gaseous phase or in the condensed liquid phase.
- APR hydrogen shall indicate hydrogen produced by the APR process.
- APR converts input oxygenated compounds to products including, but not limited to alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, alkanes, organic acids and furans.
- Lignin decomposition products can be produced, for example, by pyrolysis and/or hydrogenolysis and/or oxidation and/or contact with a super-critical (or near super-critical) fluid such as water or another solvent.
- a super-critical (or near super-critical) fluid such as water or another solvent.
- Exemplary methods for production of LDPs are reviewed by Pandey and Kim in “Lignin Depolymerization and Conversion: A Review of Thermochemical Methods" (Chem. Eng. Technol. (2011) 34 (1): 29-41) which is fully incorporated herein by reference.
- LDP includes, but is not limited to phenols (e.g.
- aldehydes e.g. vanillin and syringaldehyde
- aliphatics e.g. methane, ethane and branched alkanes
- a sugar processing module e.g. 230 and/or 240
- a sugar product processing module e.g. 270
- Fig. 3c a sugar product processing module
- lignin processing module 330 a sugar product processing module
- additional materials may be added to sugar stream 120.
- additional growth medium components e.g. nitrogen source and/or addition carbon source and/or vitamins and/or minerals
- a biological inoculum e.g. yeast, bacteria, fungi and eukaryotic cells (e.g. mammalian and/or plant and/or insect cells).
- the inoculum optionally includes wild type and/or genetically modified organisms (GMO).
- a sugar stream 120 is used in one or more processes as described in US 7,629,010; US 6,833,149; US 6,610,867; US 6,452,051; US 6,229,046; US 6,207,209; US 5,959,128; US 5,859,270; US 5,847,238; US 5,602,286; and US 5,357,035; the contents of each of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.
- the processes described in the above US patents are combined with one or more steps as described herein, for example, with the step of recycling hydrochloric acid.
- the fermentation employs a GMO.
- GMOs may include, but are not limited to, members of the genera Clostridium, Escherichia, Salmonella, Zymomonas, Rhodococcus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Enterococcus, Alcaligenes, Lactobacillus, Klebsiella, Paenibacillus, Corynebacterium, Brevibacterium, Pichia, Candida, Hansenula and Saccharomyces.
- Hosts that may be particularly of interest include: Oligotropha carboxidovorans, Escherichia coli, Bacillus licheniformis, Paenibacillus macerans, Rhodococcus erythropolis, Pseudomonas putida, Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus gallinarium, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus subtilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Also, any of the known strains of these species may be utilized as a starting microorganism.
- the microorganism is an actinomycete selected from Streptomyces coelicolor, Streptomyces lividans, Streptomyces hygroscopicus, or Saccharopolyspora erytlzraea.
- the microorganism is an eubacterium selected from Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas flucrescens, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, or Bacillus cereus.
- the GMO is a gram-negative bacterium. In some embodiments, the GMO is selected from the genera Zymomonas, Escherichia, Alcaligenes, and Klebsiella. In some embodiments, the recombinant microorganism is selected from the species Escherichia coli, Cupriavidus necator, and Oligotropha carboxidovorans. In some embodiments, the recombinant microorganism is an E. coli strain.
- fermentation in a sugar processing module produces one or more sugar products (e.g. 220a and/or 220b).
- sugar products which can result from fermentation include, but are not limited to, ethanol, acetic acid, acrylic acid, lactic acid, 3-HP, butanol, amino acids, fatty acids, and fatty alcohols.
- features used to describe units in a tripartite plant can be used to characterize units in a plant with two unit types (110+210; 110+ 5 310 and 210+310) and features used to describe units in a plant with two unit types (110+210;
- 110+ 310 and 210+310 can be used to characterize units in a tri-partite plant (110+210+310).
Abstract
Description
Claims
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GB1205501.8A GB2501869A (en) | 2010-12-21 | 2011-12-21 | Integrated processing plants |
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IL210161 | 2010-12-21 | ||
IL210161A IL210161A0 (en) | 2010-12-21 | 2010-12-21 | A method for processing a lignocellulosic material into a hydrolyzate product |
US201161473134P | 2011-04-07 | 2011-04-07 | |
US61/473,134 | 2011-04-07 | ||
US201161483663P | 2011-05-07 | 2011-05-07 | |
US61/483,663 | 2011-05-07 | ||
US201161539861P | 2011-09-27 | 2011-09-27 | |
US61/539,861 | 2011-09-27 | ||
US201161576268P | 2011-12-15 | 2011-12-15 | |
US61/576,268 | 2011-12-15 |
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US10240217B2 (en) | 2010-09-02 | 2019-03-26 | Virdia, Inc. | Methods and systems for processing sugar mixtures and resultant compositions |
US10760138B2 (en) | 2010-06-28 | 2020-09-01 | Virdia, Inc. | Methods and systems for processing a sucrose crop and sugar mixtures |
US10876178B2 (en) | 2011-04-07 | 2020-12-29 | Virdia, Inc. | Lignocellulosic conversion processes and products |
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US11965220B2 (en) | 2012-05-03 | 2024-04-23 | Virdia, Llc | Methods for treating lignocellulosic materials |
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Cited By (15)
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US9963673B2 (en) | 2010-06-26 | 2018-05-08 | Virdia, Inc. | Sugar mixtures and methods for production and use thereof |
US10752878B2 (en) | 2010-06-26 | 2020-08-25 | Virdia, Inc. | Sugar mixtures and methods for production and use thereof |
US10760138B2 (en) | 2010-06-28 | 2020-09-01 | Virdia, Inc. | Methods and systems for processing a sucrose crop and sugar mixtures |
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US11078548B2 (en) | 2015-01-07 | 2021-08-03 | Virdia, Llc | Method for producing xylitol by fermentation |
US11091815B2 (en) | 2015-05-27 | 2021-08-17 | Virdia, Llc | Integrated methods for treating lignocellulosic material |
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AR084508A1 (en) | 2013-05-22 |
IL210161A0 (en) | 2011-03-31 |
WO2012085684A3 (en) | 2012-10-26 |
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