Andritz Inc.

Rodolfo Romero

Bertil Stromberg

Allen Turner

Edwin William Bolz

A method to treat biomass, e.g., lignocellulosic material, including: performing a pretreatment step on the biomass and discharging the pretreated biomass; in at least a first enzymatic hydrolysis reactor producing a liquefaction material, recirculating at least a portion of the liquefaction material from the at least first reactor to a location upstream of the addition of the enzymes as at least a portion of the coolant for the hot pretreated biomass.

Method and apparatus for cooling pretreated biomass prior to mixing with enzymes

System for cooling pretreated biomass prior to mixing with enzymes

A reactor vessel including: a mixing chamber having a vertical length, an upper inlet, and a lower outlet; and a vertically oriented paddle within the mixing chamber and having a cross-sectional shape of a hydrofoil, wherein the paddle moves with respect to the mixing chamber.

High solids enzyme reactor mixer with vertical paddle and method

A method to treat a lignocellulosic material including: pretreating the lignocellulosic material to produce a slurry; adding an alkali material to the slurry in a first conveyor; adding a first portion of an enzyme solution to the slurry while the slurry is in, entering or passing through the discharge of a second conveyor; transferring the slurry with the enzyme solution from the second conveyor slurry to a mixer; mixing the slurry with a second portion of the enzyme solution, and transferring the slurry with the enzyme solution mixed with the first and second portions of the enzyme solution to a first reactor vessel for enzymatic hydrolysis, wherein the viscosity of the slurry is reduced in the first reactor vessel.

Method and apparatus for mixing a lignocellulosic material with enzymes

This disclosure relates to a method for treating a biomass comprising a lignocellulosic material to produce fermentable sugars comprising the steps of treating the biomass to produce a biomass with a depolymerized lignin, adding a carbonyl scavenger to the biomass before, during, or after said treating step to inhibit repolymerization of the lignin, adding at least one of a laccase enzyme and a cellulases enzyme to the biomass with depolymerized lignin subsequently to the addition of the carbonyl scavenger, and producing a fermentable sugar from the action of the laccase enzyme and cellulases enzyme on the biomass with depolymerized lignin.

Enzymatic hydrolysis pretreatment of lignocellulosic materials

A method to treat a lignocellulosic material including: performing a steam explosion reaction on the lignocellulosic material and discharging a slurry from the; adding an alkali material to the slurry in a first conveyor; transferring the slurry with the alkali material from the first conveyor to a second conveyor; adding an enzyme solution to the slurry while in, entering or at the discharge of the second conveyor; transferring the slurry with the enzyme solution from the second conveyor slurry to a mixer; mixing the slurry in the mixer, wherein a second portion of the enzyme solution is added to the slurry during the mixing, and transferring the slurry with the enzyme solution from the mixer to a first reactor vessel wherein the slurry in the first reactor vessel undergoing enzymatic hydrolysis such that the viscosity of the slurry is reduced in the first reactor vessel.

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Gansevoort, NY, United States of America

Rodolfo Romero