Lanzatech New Zealand Limited

Lanzatech, Inc.

Lanzatech Nz, Inc.

Christophe Daniel Mihalcea

Sean Dennis Simpson

Robert John Conrado

Jason Carl Bromley

Loan Phuong Tran

Nicholas Bourdakos

Michael Emerson Martin

Paul Alvin Sechrist

Christophe Collet

Allan Haiming Gao

Joseph Henry Tizard

Will David Barker

Ignasi Palou-Rivera

Michael Koepke

Fungmin Liew

Alexander Paul Mueller

Guy William Waters

Xueliang Li

Bakir Al-Sinawi

Joshua Jeremy Conolly

Bjorn Daniel Heijstra

Kathleen Frances Smart

Frank Benkwitz

Michael James Harry Mawdsley

Alice Marie Havill

Jennifer Mon Yee Fung

Prana Haryanto

James Daniel Winkler

Steven Brown

Allan Ha Gao

Shane Fleming

Wing Chuen Chan

Michael James Mawdsley

Will David Baker

The disclosure relates to the combination of a primary fermentation that converts gas to acetate with a secondary fermentation that converts acetate to a target product. Preferably, the gas contains carbon dioxide, such that the disclosure enables the fixation of carbon dioxide into useful products. The fermentations may be any combination of aerobic and anaerobic, batch and continuous. The fermenting microorganisms may typically be bacterial or fungal.

Secondary acetate fermentation

The invention is directed to a method for recovering at least one product from a fermentation broth. The invention relates to the use of a vacuum distillation vessel to recover products, such as ethanol, from a fermentation broth, where the fermentation broth comprises viable microbial biomass, and where the recovery of the product is completed in such a manner to ensure the viability of the microbial biomass. The invention provides for product recovery at an effective rate so as to prevent the accumulation of product in the fermentation broth. To ensure the viability of the microbial biomass, the invention is designed to reduce the amount of stress on the microbial biomass. By ensuring the viability of the microbial biomass, the microbial biomass may be recycled and reused in the fermentation process, which may result in an increased efficiency of the fermentation process.

Process and system for product recovery and cell recycle

The invention provides for the integration of a CO-consuming process, such as a gas fermentation process, with a COelectrolysis process. The invention is capable of utilizing a CO-comprising gaseous substrate generated by an industrial process and provides for one or more removal modules to remove at least one constituent from a CO-comprising gaseous substrate prior to passage of the gaseous substrate to a COelectrolysis module. The invention may further comprise one or more pressure modules, one or more COconcentration modules, one or more Oseparation modules, and/or an Helectrolysis module. Carbon conversion efficiency is increased by recycling COproduced by a CO-consuming process to the COelectrolysis process.

Process for improving carbon conversion efficiency

The invention provides for methods by which the economics of the gas fermentation process are improved. The invention provides for the integration of a fermentation process, with an industrial process and an electrolyzer process. The invention provides for the intermittent supply of electrolyzer feedstock from the electrolyzer process to the bioreactor for fermentation. The electrolyzer feedstock may displace at least a portion of the C1 feedstock from the industrial process. The electrolyzer feedstock may supplement the C1 feedstock from the industrial process. Whether or not the electrolyzer feedstock supplements or displaces the C1 feedstock with electrolyzer feedstock may be based upon a function of the cost per unit of the C1 feedstock, the cost per unit of the electrolyzer feedstock, and the value per unit of the fermentation product.

Intermittent electrolysis streams

This invention relates generally to method for producing products, particularly alcohols, by microbial fermentation. In particular, the invention relates to methods for increasing the efficiency of the fermentation, by providing a method for treating the used fermentation broth to produce a treated permeate which is then passed back to the bioreactor. The invention provides a method whereby at least one treatment step used to treat the permeated, produces a gaseous product which is then used in one or more stages of the fermentation process.

Fermentation process

The invention is directed to a device and associated method for recovering at least one product from a fermentation broth. The invention relates to the use of a vacuum distillation vessel to recover products, such as ethanol, from a fermentation broth, where the fermentation broth comprises viable microbial biomass, and where the recovery of the product is completed in such a manner to ensure the viability of the microbial biomass. The invention provides for product recovery at an effective rate so as to prevent the accumulation of product in the fermentation broth. To ensure the viability of the microbial biomass, the invention is designed to reduce the amount of stress on the microbial biomass. By ensuring the viability of the microbial biomass, the microbial biomass may be recycled and reused in the fermentation process, which may result in an increased efficiency of the fermentation process.

The invention provides schemes for the integration of a fermentation process, with an electrolysis process, and a C1-generating industrial process. In particular, the invention provides process for utilizing electrolysis products, for example Hand/or O, to improve the process efficiency of at least one of the fermentation process or the C1-generating industrial process. More particularly, the invention provides a process whereby, Hgenerated by electrolysis is used to improve the substrate efficiency for a fermentation process, and the Ogenerated by the electrolysis process is used to improve the composition of the C1-containing tail gas generated by the C1-generating industrial process.

Integrated fermentation and electrolysis process

A methods for altering the metabolite profile of a fermentation, by increasing flux through acetolactate. The methods comprises increasing production of one or more products derived from acetolactate. Further provided is a method for increasing the production of 2,3-butandiol by microbial fermentation of gaseous substrates, the method comprising providing a compound which inhibits one or more enzymes which convert acetolactate to branched chain amino acids to the fermentation. The present invention further provides methods for increasing the production of 2,3-butandiol relative to other fermentation products such as ethanol and acetic acid.

The invention relates to a process for optimizing the production of ethanol by microbial fermentation, particularly microbial fermentation of substrates comprising CO. The process involves monitoring the hydrogen production by the microorganism, determining an optimum hydrogen production and adjusting the substrate supply rate in response to a change in the hydrogen production thereby keeping the hydrogen production within a desired range.

Alcohol production process

This invention relates generally to methods for increasing the efficiency of microbial growth and production of products, such as alcohols and acids by microbial fermentation of substrates containing carbon monoxide. More particularly the invention relates to the provision of an alternative sulphur source to a liquid nutrient medium, such that sulphur is available to one or more microorganisms of the fermentation.

Method for controlling the sulphur concentration in a fermentation method

Methods for improving the efficiency of 2,3-butanediol fermentations are disclosed. More specifically methods of increasing the butanediol productivity from the anaerobic fermentation of a substrate comprising carbon monoxide or carbon monoxide and hydrogen by one or more caboxydotrophic acetogenic bacteria are disclosed. The method includes supplying a hydrogen depleted substrate to increase butanediol productivity. The method includes producing butanediol at a volumetric productivity rate of at least 15 g/L/day.

Fermentation process for controlling butanediol production

The invention provides method for producing butanediol and specifically 2,3-butanediol by anaerobic fermentation of a gaseous substrate comprising CO by a culture of at least one micro-organism. In accordance with particular methods of the invention, 2,3-butanediol is produced by anaerobic fermentation of substrates including carbohydrates and carbon monoxide. The invention further provides for the up-regulation of a native 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase gene in the at least one micro-organism. The 2,3-butanediol can be further converted to compounds such as butene(s), butadiene and methyl ethyl ketone. These compounds can be further converted to chemical products such as 2-butanol.

Process for production of alcohols by microbial fermentation

The invention relates to methods for improving the efficiency of carbon capture in microbial fermentation of a gaseous substrate comprising CO and/or H2. In certain aspects the invention relates to improving the efficiency of carbon capture in the microbial fermentation of gaseous substrate comprising CO and/or H2 to produce alcohol(s) and/or acid(s). In particular the invention relates to methods for improving the efficiency of carbon capture in carboxydotrophic fermentation.

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Skokie, IL, United States of America

Christophe Daniel Mihalcea