Single-Vessel Gas Purification for Fermentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas treatment processes for microbial gas fermentation struggle to efficiently remove impurities like hydrogen cyanide, carbonyl sulfide, and oxygen, which can inhibit microbial activity and catalyst performance, while also requiring multiple heat exchangers and vessels that are not always available in revamp situations.
Innovation Solution
A process that heats the input gas stream and then contacts it with a hydrolysis catalyst bed to remove hydrogen cyanide and carbonyl sulfide, followed by a sulfur guard bed and a deoxygenation catalyst bed, all located within a single vessel, to produce a fermentable gas stream with reduced levels of oxygen, acetylene, and hydrogen cyanide.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple heat exchangers and vessels are used to remove impurities, then impurity removal effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple impurity removal functions (hydrogen cyanide removal, carbonyl sulfide removal, oxygen removal) into a single vessel containing multiple catalyst beds. This merging approach maintains effective impurity removal while reducing the number of separate vessels and heat exchangers required, directly resolving the technical contradiction between removal effectiveness and device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The single vessel is designed to perform multiple impurity removal functions simultaneously through different catalyst beds arranged in series. The deoxygenation catalyst removes oxygen, the hydrolysis catalyst removes hydrogen cyanide and carbonyl sulfide, and the sulfur guard bed removes sulfur compounds, making the vessel a multi-functional unit that replaces multiple specialized vessels
2Reliability
If multiple separate removal beds are used, then impurity removal completeness is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple catalyst beds that would traditionally require separate vessels are merged into a single vessel with internal partitions or stacked arrangements. This integration maintains the completeness of impurity removal through sequential treatment stages while significantly improving ease of operation by reducing the number of separate units to monitor, maintain, and operate
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 process effectively reduces impurity levels in the gas stream, ensuring successful noninhibited gas fermentation by minimizing the consumption of desired reactants and preventing the formation of microbial and catalyst inhibitors.
Implementation Method 1
contacting the heated input gas stream with a hydrolysis catalyst bed to remove hydrogen cyanide to less than 1 ppm hydrogen cyanide and/or carbonyl sulfide to less than 1 ppm carbonyl sulfide
Implementation Method 2
contacting the heated input gas stream with a deoxygenation catalyst bed to remove oxygen to less than 100 ppm oxygen
Implementation Method 3
heating the input gas stream to a temperature that is effective for a deoxygenation catalyst and below a reduction temperature of a sulfur guard bed material
Data Source
AI summary
A process and system for producing a fermentable gas stream from a gas source that contains one or more impurity which may be harmful to the fermentation process is provided. To produce the fermentable gas stream, the gas stream is passed through a specifically ordered series of removal beds. The removal beds remove and/or convert various impurities found in the gas stream which may have harmful effects on downstream removal beds and/or inhibitory effects on downstream gas fermenting microorganisms. At least a portion of the fermentable gas stream may be capable of being passed to a bioreactor, which contains gas fermenting microorganisms.