Coskata, Inc.

Synata Bio, Inc.

Caliper Life Sciences, Inc.

Richard E Tobey

Robert F Hickey

Rathin Datta

Shih-Perng Tsai

Jianxin Du

Rahul Basu

Seong-Hoon Yoon

Andrew C Reeves

Ralph Corley

Steven G Calderone

Mike Enzien

Toby D Allen

Peter Martin Lokken

Andrew James Heinen

Gengsheng Chen

Processes for starting up and operating anaerobic, deep tank fermentation reactors including a process for anaerobic bioconversion of a gas substrate comprising carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide in a reactor by contact of the gas substrate with an aqueous menstruum containing microorganisms suitable for converting the gas substrate to an oxygenated organic compound in the reactor. The process further includes: blanketing the reactor above the aqueous menstruum to the essential exclusion of oxygen with a head space gas comprising at least one of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and a lower alkane; continuously supplying a feed gas comprising at least a portion of the gas substrate to the aqueous menstruum in the reactor; and injecting the gas substrate and a motive liquid into the reactor to form a dispersion of the motive liquid and microbubbles, the microbubbles having a diameter of less than about 500 microns.

Processes for starting up and operating deep tank anaerobic fermentation reactors for making oxygenated organic compound from carbon monoxide and hydrogen

High conversion efficiency processes are disclosed for the anaerobic bioconversion of syngas to alcohol. The processes use bioreactors that have a non-uniform gas composition and a substantially uniform liquid composition such as deep tank bioreactors. By maintaining certain electron to carbon mole ratios in the syngas feed to the bioreactors and certain partial pressures of carbon dioxide in the off gas from the bioreactors, at least about 80 percent of the hydrogen and at least about 95 percent of the carbon monoxide in the feed can be consumed.

Processes and control systems for high efficiency anaerobic conversion of hydrogren and carobon oxides to alcohols

Methods are disclosed for controlling the population of acetoclastic microorganisms in a process for the bioconversion of gas substrate comprising at least one of CO and a mixture of COand hydrogen to at least one oxygenated organic compound by contact of said gas substrate under acidic, anaerobic fermentation conditions in a bioreactor containing an aqueous fermentation broth having a population of at least one acetogenic microorganism for bioconverting said gas substrate to at least one acetogenic oxygenated organic compound, said fermentation zone defining a head space, said methods comprising continuously or intermittently controlling the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the head space to provide a desired population ratio of acetoclastic microorganisms to acetogenic microorganisms.

Methods for controlling acetoclastic microorganisms in acetogenic syngas fermentation processes

Processes are disclosed for the conversion of biomass to oxygenated organic compound using a simplified syngas cleanup operation that is cost effective and protects the fermentation operation. The processes of this invention treat the crude syngas from the gasifier by non-catalytic partial oxidation. The partial oxidation reduces the hydrocarbon content of the syngas such as methane, ethylene and acetylene to provide advantageous gas feeds for anaerobic fermentations to produce oxygenated organic compounds such as ethanol, propanol and butanol. Additionally, the partial oxidation facilitates any additional cleanup of the syngas as may be required for the anaerobic fermentation. Producer gases and partial oxidation processes are also disclosed.

Processes for the conversion of biomass to oxygenated organic compound, apparatus therefor and compositions produced thereby

The invention relates to the fields of bacterial metabolism and the utilization or consumption of short-chain carboxylic acids to reduced products. Specifically, it relates to syngas fermentations using monocultures of syngas-utilizing homoacetogenic bacteria for the production of alcohols using native alcohol dehydrogenase.

Compositions and methods for the conversion of short-chained carboxylic acids to alcohols using clostridial enzymes

The invention relates to improvements in the production of butanol and butyrate by microbial fermentation, particularly to production of alcohols by microbial fermentation of a substrate comprising CO and the addition of an inorganic sulfur additive. It more particularly relates to the provision of an inorganic organic sulfur source to a fermentation system such that one or more micro-organisms convert a substrate comprising CO to butanol. In one aspect the invention uses a sulfur additive comprising inorganic sulfur compounds having a +2 to a +4 sulfur oxidation state that produces sulfur oxoanions and hydrosulfur oxoanions in an aqueous fermentation medium.

Method for producing C4 oxygentates by fermentation using high oxidation state sulfur

This invention pertains to processes for selectively oxidizing hydrogen cyanide contained in syngas using permanganate anion as an oxidant contained in an aqueous solution that is contacted with the syngas under certain conditions of temperature, pressure and duration of contact.

Processes for selectively reducing the concentration of hydrogen cyanide in syngas

Processes for starting up and operating anaerobic, deep tank fermentation systems to anaerobically bioconvert hydrogen and carbon monoxide in a gaseous substrate stream to oxygenated organic compounds and for steady operation of such fermentation systems are shown. Injectors use a motive liquid to introduce gas substrate as a stable gas-in liquid dispersion into the deep tank fermentation reactor where at least one of: (i) adjusting the gas to liquid flow ratio through an injector, (ii) changing the rate of liquid flow through an injector, and (iii) adjusting the carbon monoxide mole fraction in the gas feed by admixture with at least one other gas, wherein the mass transfer of carbon monoxide to an aqueous menstruum in the reactor is controlled to obtain the robust growth of the microorganism and/or continued conversion of gas substrate while maintaining the carbon monoxide concentration below that amount which is unduly adverse to the microorganism.

Processes and control systems for high efficiency anaerobic conversion of hydrogen and carbon oxides to alcohols

This invention provides methods and systems for the production of butanol. Specifically, the methods and systems of the present invention use syntrophic co-cultures for the production of butanol from syngas.

Method for production of n-butanol from syngas using syntrophic co-cultures of anaerobic microorganisms

The invention relates to improvements in the production of ethanol and acetate by microbial fermentation, particularly to production of alcohols by microbial fermentation of a substrate comprising CO and the addition of an inorganic sulfur additive. It more particularly relates to the provision of an inorganic organic sulfur source to a fermentation system such that one or more microorganisms convert a substrate comprising CO to ethanol. In one aspect the invention uses a sulfur additive comprising inorganic sulfur compounds having a +2 to a +4 sulfur oxidation state that produces sulfur oxoanions and hydrosulfur oxoanions in an aqueous fermentation medium.

Method for producing C2 oxygenates by fermentation using high oxidation state sulfur

High conversion efficiency processes are disclosed for the anaerobic bioconversion of syngas to alcohol by microorganisms having metabolic processes that utilize sulfur in limited amounts. The processes remove hydrogen sulfide from the gas leaving the bioreactor assembly by forming sulfur compounds that are beneficial to the microorganisms. The sulfur compounds can be returned to the bioreactor assembly to meet a portion of microorganism sulfur demand.

Sulfur management for processes and control systems for the efficient anaerobic conversion of hydrogen and carbon oxides to alcohols

Processes are disclosed for the anaerobic bioconversion of syngas to oxygenated organic compound that use an in situ method for protecting the microorganisms from hydrogen cyanide contained in the syngas that passes to the fermentation broth. The fermentation broth is maintained at a pH of between about 4 and 6, and dissolved metal cation of one or more of iron, cobalt, nickel and zinc is provided to the fermentation broth in an amount sufficient to form, under the conditions of the fermentation broth, a substantially insoluble metal complex with the metal cation and cyanide anion. The rate of formation of the insoluble complex is sufficiently high that that the amount of cyanide that is taken up by microorganisms does not result in an undue adverse effect on the population of microorganisms.

Processes for the anaerobic bioconverison of syngas to oxygenated organic compound with in situ protection from hydrogen cyanide

Processes are provided for starting up of anaerobic, deep tank fermentation systems used in the anaerobic bioconversion of hydrogen and carbon monoxide in a gaseous substrate stream to oxygenated organic compounds such as ethanol. In the processes injectors using a motive liquid are used to introduce gas substrate into the deep tank fermentation reactor where at least one of:

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St. Charles, IL, United States of America

Richard E Tobey