Systems and methods for separating and purifying butadiene

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to systems for isolating and/or purifying byproducts of anaerobic fermentation processes, and methods of using same. In one embodiment, gas compositions comprising conjugated diolefins (e.g., 1,3-biobutadiene and/or isoprene) and various amounts of impurities (e.g., water vapor from fermentation media, carbon dioxide from microbe respiration, and organic bio-byproducts such as propanol) are produced in a fermentation process. In some embodiments, the system includes one or more compressors and/or one or more distillers suitable for low-temperature separation of the conjugated olefin(s) from a substantial amount of the impurities in the gas composition.