Continuous Fermentation Adsorbent Column for Butanol Recovery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing butanol through microbial fermentation face challenges such as low productivity, high toxicity of butanol, and inefficient separation and refinement, leading to high costs and impurities in the final product.
Innovation Solution
A continuous fermentation, separation, and refinement apparatus and method utilizing at least two columns filled with an adsorbent, where the culture medium is switched between columns based on adsorption rates and product concentration to maintain optimal conditions for microbial growth and productivity, with desorption using heat or eluants to recover the product.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If activated carbon is used to adsorb butanol during continuous culture, then butanol can be extracted, but the adsorption amount is low and the concentration of adsorbed butanol is low, making recovery difficult and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the concentration parameter of butanol in the culture medium by implementing continuous culture with controlled flow rates and residence times. This maintains butanol concentration at levels that prevent cytotoxicity while enabling efficient adsorption, resolving the contradiction between recovery efficiency and productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous culture with continuous adsorption, replacing batch processes. The culture medium flows continuously through the adsorbent bed, enabling constant butanol removal and maintenance of optimal concentration levels, thereby achieving both high recovery efficiency and sustained productivity
2Productivity
If the concentration of butanol in culture medium is increased to improve productivity, then more product is produced, but cytotoxicity increases and microbial growth is inhibited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent continuously extracts butanol from the culture medium using an adsorbent bed. By removing the harmful product as it is formed, the system maintains low butanol concentration in the culture medium, preventing cytotoxicity while achieving high overall productivity through continuous production and removal
Solution Approach 2:
The adsorbent acts as an intermediary substance that selectively binds butanol from the culture medium. This mediator enables the separation of butanol production from butanol accumulation, allowing high productivity without cytotoxicity by transferring butanol from the toxic liquid phase to the adsorbent phase
3Productivity
If adsorbent is added to culture medium to increase butanol concentration and productivity, then more butanol can be recovered, but impurities are simultaneously adsorbed, reducing purity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a specific environment in the adsorption zone where only butanol is selectively adsorbed. The adsorbent material and operating conditions are optimized to provide selective adsorption characteristics, ensuring that while butanol is concentrated, impurities remain in the culture medium and are not co-adsorbed
4Reliability
If cell aggregates form in the column, then the column may be physically clogged, but this creates channels in the flow that decrease adsorption efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic system where the adsorbent bed is continuously refreshed and regenerated. By maintaining continuous flow and implementing periodic regeneration, the system prevents cell aggregate formation and column clogging, ensuring both operational reliability and sustained adsorption efficiency over time
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables efficient and rapid separation and purification of products, increasing butanol concentration and productivity while maintaining microbial health, and allows for the reuse of adsorbents, reducing costs and impurities.
Implementation Method 1
adsorbing butanol produced during continuous culture using activated carbon
Implementation Method 2
desorption using heat or eluants to recover the product
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for fermenting, separating, and refining a product, which is produced by cultivating a microorganism. The apparatus and the method for fermenting, separating, and refining, of the present invention, can separate and refine the product that is produced by microbial fermentation in a simple, continuous manner and with high efficiency.