Lanzatech, Inc.

Lanzatech New Zealand Limited

Lanzatech Nz, Inc.

Robert John Conrado

Allan Haiming Gao

Christophe Daniel Mihalcea

Sean Dennis Simpson

Gregory Joseph Morin

Joss Anton Coombes

Mayur Sathe

Nicholas Bourdakos

Xueliang Li

Derek Wayne Griffin

Michael Emerson Martin

Peng Tian

Paul Alvin Sechrist

Jason Carl Bromley

Guy William Waters

Wyatt Eric Allen

Joshua Jeremy Conolly

Joseph Henry Tizard

Sean Molloy

Brian Nelson Horton

Curtis Paul Studebaker

Ignasi Palou-Rivera

Matthew Puglisi

Michael Koepke

Richard Russell Rosin

Loan Phuong Tran

Sebastian Michal Bernasek

Rachel Jane Brenc

Alexander Paul Mueller

Christophe Mihalcea

James Daniel Winkler

Elham Ebrahimiaqda

Steven Brown

Michael Anthony Schultz

Allan Ha Gao

Franz-Marcus Nowak

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 disclosure is directed to a method for recovering products from a fermentation broth. The disclosure relates to the use of extractive distillation to recover products which have close boiling points, such as ethanol and isopropanol, from a fermentation broth. In an embodiment, the recovery of product is completed in a manner that minimizes stress on the microbial biomass, such that it remains viable, at least in part, and may be recycled and reused in the fermentation process, which may result in increased efficiency in the fermentation process. The extractive distillation vessel reactor may be used downstream of a distillation vessel. To minimize stress on the microbial biomass the distillation vessel may be under vacuum. The extractive distillation vessel may be used alongside a separation vessel such that the separation vessel is capable of recycling extractive distillation agent.

Process for recovering close boiling products

The systems and methods disclosed herein provide for the efficient separation of gas from fluid comprising liquid. In particular, gas separator systems and methods for use in bioreactor systems and operations are disclosed herein providing an efficient means to remove gaseous waste products, unreacted gaseous substrates, and or inert gas from broth of the biological fermentation of carbon substrates using a microorganism biocatalyst.

Low residence time gas separator

Systems and methods relating to dynamic spargers for generating fine bubbles within reactors such as biological and chemical reactors. A sparger system is positioned within a reactor and comprises a support plate, multiple annular shrouds engaged with the support plate, and spargers positioned within the annular shrouds defining a gap between an interior surface of the annular shroud and an exterior surface of the corresponding sparger. Liquid flows through the defined gap between an interior surface of the annular shroud and an exterior surface of the sparger. Acceleration of the liquid through the gap shears bubbles at the exterior surface of the sparger creating bubbles or fine bubbles.

Reactor having dynamic sparger

The disclosure is directed to a process and an apparatus for providing a feedstock. A gaseous feed stream comprising at least one hydrocarbon is passed to a reforming unit followed by a water gas shift reaction zone to provide a first gaseous stream comprising H, CO, and CO. The first gaseous stream is fed a hydrogen separation zone to separate it into a hydrogen enriched stream and a second gaseous stream comprising CO, COand H. The second gaseous stream is fed to a COto CO conversion system to produce a third gaseous stream comprising Hand CO having a H:CO molar ratio of less than 5:1. The third gaseous stream is fed as the feedstock for a gas fermentation unit to have increased stability and product selectivity.

Process and apparatus for providing a feedstock

The systems and methods disclosed herein provide for the efficient generation of fine bubbles. In particular, systems and methods for use in bioreactors are disclosed herein providing a superior means to produce useful fermentation products by the biological fermentation of fine bubble waste substrates injected into a liquid broth containing a microorganism culture.

System and method for generating bubbles in a vessel

The disclosure provides for the integration of a gas fermentation process with a gasification process whereby tail gas from the gas fermentation process is recycled to a dryer of the gasification process. The tail gas from the gas fermentation process is utilized to generate heat which in turn is used to dry feedstock to the gasification process. The heat is typically used to heat a drying gas, such as air, which is then directly or indirectly contacted with the gasification feedstock to dry the gasification feedstock. Dried gasification feedstock provides improved yield and improved quality of syngas as compared to gasification feedstock that is not dried.

Tail gas of gas fermentation to dry gasification feedstock

The disclosure is directed to a method for recovering products from a fermentation broth. The disclosure relates to the use of dehydration to recover products which have close boiling points, such as ethanol and isopropanol, from a fermentation broth. In an embodiment, the recovery of product is completed in a manner that minimizes stress on the microbial biomass present in the fermentation broth, such that it remains viable, at least in part, and may be recycled and reused in the fermentation process, which may result in increased efficiency in the fermentation process. The dehydration reactor may be used downstream of a distillation vessel and converts products such as ethanol and isopropanol into ethylene and propylene. The ethylene and propylene can be used to prepare a component of a fuel or can be polymerized. To minimize stress on the microbial biomass the distillation vessel may be under vacuum.

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 description describes the integration of a gas fermentation process with a gasification process whereby effluent from the gas fermentation process is recycled to the gasification process. The one or more effluents which can be recycled include a stream comprising microbial biomass, a product stream comprising at least a portion of the at least one fermentation product, a by-product stream comprising fusel oil, and a waste water stream comprising microbial biomass. The stream comprising biomass can be dried before it is passed to the gasification zone. At least a portion of the waste water stream can be passed to the gasification process where one use is to replace at least a portion of the process water. The waste water stream can be further processed to produce a clarified water stream and a biogas stream comprising methane either or both of which can be passed to the gasification process.

Integration of fermentation and gasification

The invention provides for the optimal utilization of gas by a fermentation process, whereby the various components within the gas stream are separated to increase the efficiency of the microorganisms. The invention is capable of tailoring the composition of the gas being used by the fermentation process so as to enhance the production of various products. The invention is capable of applying such controlled separation and utilization of gas to produce different products in two parallel fermentation processes. The invention is also capable of applying such controlled separation and utilization of gas to produce one product in a first fermentation process, which may be converted to a different product in a second fermentation process. The invention is additionally capable of mitigating culture inhibition.

Methods for optimizing gas utilization

The disclosure provides for the separation and combustion of at least one hydrocarbon, oxygenate, sulfur compound, and or nitrogen compound, from industrial gas or gasification derived syngas to generate steam. A gasification process and a gas fermentation process may be integrated using tail gas from the fermentation process for the flame to combust tar and other compounds from the syngas generated by a gasification process. Integration may be achieved by removing tar and other compounds from industrial gas or gasification derived syngas using an adsorbent and regenerating the adsorbent using tail gas from the gas fermentation process. Tail gas enriched with the desorbed tar and other compounds may be used to generate steam in a steam boiler and the steam may be used for a variety of purposes including power generation to power, for example, a compressor of the gas fermentation process.

Use of fermentation tail gas in integrated gasification and gas fermentation system

The invention provides animal feed comprising microbial biomass and methods of producing animal feed by culturing a microorganism to produce microbial biomass. In particular, the invention relates to animal feed produced by fermentation of a gaseous substrate comprising one or more of CO, CO, and H, especially by a Gram-positive, anaerobic, and/ormicroorganism.

Gas fermentation for the production of protein or feed

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.

Growing community of inventors

Skokie, IL, United States of America

Robert John Conrado