Uchicago Argonne, LLC

Uop Lcc

The University of Chicago

Edward J St Martin

YuPo J Lin

Seth W Snyder

Jamie Allen Hestekin

Michelle B Arora

Paul R Kurek

Michael P Henry

Daniel H Pope

Elaine F Schumacher

James R Frank

Ronald P Rohrbach

Linda De La Garza

A method for producing succinic acid is provided, which comprises circulating a fermentation broth containing succinate ion through an electrodeionization apparatus. The apparatus comprises an anode; a cathode; a stacked ion-exchange assembly comprising a one or more oriented ion-exchange units between the anode and the cathode. Each ion-exchange unit comprises a porous ion-exchange resin wafer including an inlet and an outlet together are adapted to circulate a liquid reaction stream containing a carboxylate anion from a fermentor through the resin wafer; a flow-distributing gasket for circulating a product stream through a product reservoir; an anion exchange membrane for transporting at least a portion of the carboxylate anion to the product stream; and a bipolar ion-exchange membrane to direct protons toward the cathode and into the product stream and to direct hydroxyl ions toward the anode and into the reaction stream in the resin wafer of an adjacent ion-exchange unit.

Bioprocess utilizing carbon dioxide and electrodeionization

The present invention relates to an integrated method and system for the simultaneous production of biodiesel from free fatty acids (via esterification) and from triglycerides (via transesterification) within the same reaction chamber. More specifically, one preferred embodiment of the invention relates to a method and system for the production of biodiesel using an electrodeionization stack, wherein an ion exchange resin matrix acts as a heterogeneous catalyst for simultaneous esterification and transesterification reactions between a feedstock and a lower alcohol to produce biodiesel, wherein the feedstock contains significant levels of free fatty acid. In addition, because of the use of a heterogeneous catalyst, the glycerol and biodiesel have much lower salt concentrations than raw biodiesel produced by conventional transesterification processes. The present invention makes it much easier to purify glycerol and biodiesel.

Electrochemical method for producing a biodiesel mixture comprising fatty acid alkyl esters and glycerol

A bioreactor with an anode and a cathode, and a plurality of reaction chambers each having an inlet and an outlet and each including a porous solid ion exchange wafer having ion-exchange resins. Each of the reaction chambers is interleaved between a cation exchange membrane and an anion exchange membrane or between either a cation or an anion exchange membrane and a bipolar exchange membrane. A product chamber is separated from one of the reaction chambers by either a cation or an anion exchange membrane. Recirculation mechanism is provided for transporting material between the reaction chamber inlets and outlets. A method of producing organic acids, amino acids, or amines using the separative bioreactor is disclosed.

Retention of counterions in the separative bioreactor

A porous solid ion exchange wafer having a combination of a biomolecule capture-resin and an ion-exchange resin forming a charged capture resin within said wafer. Also disclosed is a porous solid ion exchange wafer having a combination of a biomolecule capture-resin and an ion-exchange resin forming a charged capture resin within said wafer containing a biomolecule with a tag. A separate bioreactor is also disclosed incorporating the wafer described above.

Method of stripping genetically tagged biomolecules from porous solid ion exchange wafer

Devices incorporating a thin wafer of electrically and ionically conductive porous material made by the method of introducing a mixture of a thermoplastic binder and one or more of anion exchange moieties or cation exchange moieties or mixtures thereof and/or one or more of a protein capture resin and an electrically conductive material into a mold. The mixture is subjected to temperatures in the range of from about 60&#xb0; C. to about 170&#xb0; C. at pressures in the range of from about 0 to about 500 psig for a time in the range of from about 1 to about 240 minutes to form thin wafers. Devices include electrodeionization and separative bioreactors in the production of organic and amino acids, alcohols or esters for regenerating cofactors in enzymes and microbial cells.

Devices using resin wafers and applications thereof

Porous solid ion exchange wafer for immobilizing biomolecules

A method of and apparatus for continuously making an organic ester from a lower alcohol and an organic acid is disclosed. An organic acid or salt is introduced or produced in an electrode ionization (EDI) stack with a plurality of reaction chambers each formed from a porous solid ion exchange resin wafer interleaved between anion exchange membranes or an anion exchange membrane and a cation exchange membrane or an anion exchange membrane and a bipolar exchange membranes. At least some reaction chambers are esterification chambers and/or bioreactor chambers and/or chambers containing an organic acid or salt. A lower alcohol in the esterification chamber reacts with an anion to form an organic ester and water with at least some of the water splitting with the ions leaving the chamber to drive the reaction.

Single-stage separation and esterification of cation salt carboxylates using electrodeionization

An electrodeionization method for continuously producing and or separating and/or concentrating ionizable organics present in dilute concentrations in an ionic solution while controlling the pH to within one to one-half pH unit method for continuously producing and or separating and/or concentrating ionizable organics present in dilute concentrations in an ionic solution while controlling the pH to within one to one-half pH unit.

Electrodeionization method

An electrode design is provided for corrosion monitoring using electrochemical noise measurements. Electrochemical probes are used for sensing electrochemical noise voltage values and electrochemical noise current values. The electrochemical probes include a pair of working electrodes formed of the same material of the monitored metal pipes or storage vessels and a reference electrode formed of a corrosion resistant material. Each of the pair of working electrodes has a defined surface roughness. One of the pair of working electrodes has reduced roughness, whereby sensitivity to sustained localized pitting corrosion is increased in the working electrode with reduced roughness. By reducing the surface roughness of one of the pair of working electrodes, increased sensitivity to sustained localized pitting corrosion is provided while the current noise can be used to accurately measure the general corrosion rate on the unpolished electrode.

Electrode design for corrosion monitoring using electrochemical noise measurements

A method and apparatus are provided for monitoring localized pitting corrosion in metal pipes or storage vessels. Electrochemical probes are used for sensing electrochemical noise voltage values and electrochemical noise current values. The root-mean-square electrochemical noise current and voltage values are calculated and stored for the sensed electrochemical noise voltage values and the electrochemical noise current values. The stored electrochemical noise current and voltage values are processed by transforming the stored electrochemical noise current and voltage values into power spectral density data utilizing a fast Fourier transform. A slope of the power spectral density data relative to frequency is calculated. The electrochemical probes include a pair of working electrodes formed of the same material of the monitored metal pipes or storage vessels and a reference electrode formed of a corrosion resistant material. A linear slope of a low-frequency portion of the power spectral density data is calculated by using a least-square method.

In-situ process for the monitoring of localized pitting corrosion

A D-allose specific dehydrogenase has been isolated which can be used with NAD as a cofactor in a sensitive, specific, quantitative assay for D-allose in aqueous media. A qualitative, color-based test for the presence of D-allose results when an election-accepting dye is coupled to NAD.

Assay for D-allose using a NAD cofactor coupled D-allose dehydrogenase

Several classes of water immiscible lipophilic phases effect the transfer of crystalline orange precursor pigments produced by Monascus species in an aqueous culture medium from the aqueous to the lipophilic phase without solubilizing a major portion of the pigment. Liquid vegetable and mineral oils are two such classes. This phenomenon permits high recovery of pigment in a simple and convenient manner, and also permits development of a batch recycle and a continuous fermentation process for pigment production.

Biphasic crystalline separation of water insoluble orange pigments from

The yellow pigments which result from reaction of the Monascus pigments monascorubrin and rubropunctatin with amines followed by reduction of the ring carbonyl moiety to an hydroxyl group have excellent properties for their use as food colorants. Yellow pigments made from amino acid esters, dipeptide esters, and amines of sugar alcohols have particular promise as desirable food colorants which are effective at levels which impart no objectionable taste to foods.

Reduced monascus pigment derivatives as yellow food colorants

The orange, water-insoluble pigments monascorubrin and rubropunctatin elaborated by Monascus species can be converted to high purity red, water-soluble pigments by reaction with stoichiometric quantities of organic materials bearing a primary amine functionality. These pigments are suitable as colorants for a broad variety of edible formulations, especially those intended for human consumption, and often serve as suitable replacements for FD&C Red No. 2 and Red No. 4.

Water-soluble red pigments from monascorubrin and rubropunctatin as food

Both the ease and cost of isolating the water insoluble orange pigment produced as a secondary metabolite by Monascus species can be substantially improved by inducing crystalline pigment formation directly in the culture medium. Poly(oxyethylene)sorbitan esters of palmitic acid are especially effective and cause the formation of large crystals. Another class of crystalline pigment inducing agents is that of the liquid vegetable oils, although generally these lead to smaller crystal sizes.

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Libertyville, IL, United States of America

Edward J St Martin