Title : Process and adsorbent for separating ethanol and associated oxygenates from a biofermentation system
Abstract:
The principles of process intensification if used on existing processes can lead to development and redesign of existing processes to become more sustainable. This presentation will discuss a process and an adsorbent for the separation of ethanol associated oxygenates from a dilute mixture of ethanol and associated oxygenates in water in the presence of organic compounds derived from a biofermentation process. After pretreatment, the separation is carried out in a simulated moving bed adsorption system employing a stationary phase adsorbent comprising fluorinated carbon or modified C18 silica gel selective for the adsorption of ethanol and associated oxygenates, such as 2,3-butanediol, with a mobile phase desorbent selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, propanol, and methyl tertiary butyl ether. The process is useful for removing water from dilute aqueous mixtures of organic compounds comprising ethanol in dilute concentration in water and produced by fermentation, biomass extraction, biocatalytic, and enzymatic processes which are not economically recoverable by conventional distillation methods.
Audience take-away:
- The audience will learn about ways to achieve process intensification in the industry using simulated moving bed technology (SMB).
- SMB is replacing traditional distillation unit operation in this particular invention outlined.
- This technology outlines an excellent way to capture CO2 by capturing flue gas from power plant exhaust and converting it to ethanol or butanediol. The ethanol and butanediol from the dilute fermentation broth can only be extracted using the unique SMB setup since the traditional distillation rout for ethanol/BDO extraction would not be economical.
