| IOGEN ENERGY CORPORATION Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
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| 20140363846 | PROCESS FOR PRODUCING CELLULASE MIXTURES FROM MYCELIOPHTHORA AND RELATED ORGANISMS - The present invention provides a fermentation process for producing a cellulase enzyme mixture comprising the steps of (a) providing a fungal cell of the genus | 12-11-2014 |
| 20140248676 | PROCESS FOR RECOVERING SALT DURING A LIGNOCELLULOSIC CONVERSION PROCESS - The present invention relates to a process for generating steam and recovering salts during a lignocellulosic conversion process. The process comprises de-salting a still bottoms stream; incinerating a stream comprising lignin and the de-salted still bottoms stream in an incinerator; and utilizing the heat generated from said incinerating to produce steam. Further provided is a process that comprises feeding a concentrated still bottoms stream to a crystallizer and forming insoluble solids therein comprising salts. Furthermore, the invention relates to a process for recovering salts from a lignocellulosic conversion process, which process comprises the addition of solvent to a still bottoms stream to precipitate salts therefrom. Also provided is a still bottoms composition, a fertilizer product and a composition for incineration. | 09-04-2014 |
| 20140242684 | SYSTEM FOR HYDROLYZING A CELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCK SLURRY USING ONE OR MORE UNMIXED AND MIXED REACTORS - Provided is a system for hydrolyzing a cellulosic feedstock slurry. The system comprises one or more unmixed reactors for receiving and partially hydrolyzing the cellulosic feedstock slurry so as to produce a mixture of partially hydrolyzed slurry. The unmixed reactors may be plug flow reactors. One or more mixed reactors are downstream of the unmixed reactors for continuing the hydrolysis of the mixture of the partially hydrolyzed slurry. The one or more unmixed and mixed reactors may be connected in series, parallel or a combination thereof. | 08-28-2014 |
| 20140134678 | METHOD OF HYDROLYZING CELLULOSE SLURRY USING CELLULASE AND FLOCCULENT (AS AMENDED) - A process for the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose to produce a hydrolysis product from a pre-treated cellulosic feedstock is provided. The process comprises introducing an aqueous slurry of the pre-treated cellulosic feedstock at the bottom of a hydrolysis reactor. Axial dispersion in the reactor is limited by avoiding mixing and maintaining an average slurry flow velocity of about 0.1 to about 20 feet per hour, such that the undissolved solids flow upward at a rate slower than that of the liquid. Cellulase enzymes are added to the aqueous slurry before or during the step of introducing. An aqueous stream comprising hydrolysis product and unhydrolyzed solids is removed from the hydrolysis reactor. Also provided are enzyme compositions which comprise cellulase enzymes and flocculents for use in the process. In addition, a kit comprising cellulase enzymes and flocculent is provided. | 05-15-2014 |
| 20140030795 | MODIFIED YEAST STRAINS EXHIBITING ENHANCED FERMENTATION OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC HYDROLYSATES - The present invention relates to novel xylose-fermenting yeast strains (for example, yeast of the genus | 01-30-2014 |
| 20130143285 | METHOD FOR DILUTE ACID PRETREATMENT OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCKS - The present invention relates to a process for the conversion of a lignocellulosic feedstock involving acid pretreatment. The process comprises the steps of treating the lignocellulosic feedstock with alkali at a pH of between about 8.0 and about 12.0 so as to dissolve acetyl groups present on said lignocellulosic feedstock, while converting less than about 10% of the xylan present in the lignocellulosic feedstock to xylose and less than about 10% of the cellulose to glucose, thereby producing an alkali conditioned feedstock. The alkali conditioned feedstock is then pretreated at a temperature of about 160° C. to about 250° C., at a pH of about 0.5 to about 2.5 for about 0.5 to about 10 minutes so as to hydrolyze about 80 to 100% of the xylan and about 3 to about 15% of the cellulose to produce an acid pretreated feedstock comprising cellulose. The cellulose in the pretreated feedstock can be hydrolyzed to glucose with cellulase and the glucose can be fermented to produce a fermentation product. | 06-06-2013 |
| 20130143278 | RECYCLE OF LEACHATE DURING LIGNOCELLULOSIC CONVERSION PROCESSES - The present invention provides a process for producing fermentable sugar or a fermentation product from a lignocellulosic feedstock. The process comprises leaching the lignocellulosic feedstock with an aqueous solution to remove at least potassium salts from the lignocellulosic feedstock and without significantly hydrolyzing hemicellulose and cellulose, thereby producing a leached feedstock and leachate. The leachate is removed from the leachate and concentrated. The leached feedstock is hydrolyzed to produce fermentable sugar, which may be fermented to produce a fermentation broth comprising the fermentation product. The concentrated leachate is recirculated to one or more stages in the process involving alkali addition to adjust the pH of a process stream. | 06-06-2013 |
| 20130071903 | METHOD FOR HEATING A FEEDSTOCK - The present invention provides a method for producing a pretreated or hydrolyzed lignocellulosic feedstock. The method comprises feeding a lignocellulosic feedstock to a plug formation device and forming a feedstock plug therein. The plug or segments thereof are fed into an elongate chamber that comprises steam addition means for direct steam addition and a rotating shaft mounted co-axially within the chamber having one or more disintegrating elements mounted on it. Disintegrated feedstock particles are produced in the elongate chamber by the disintegrating elements. The disintegrated feedstock particles are heated by contact with the steam introduced through the steam addition means. The disintegrated feedstock particles are then treated in a reactor to produce the pretreated or hydrolyzed lignocellulosic feedstock. Further provided is a feedstock composition comprising disintegrated feedstock particles. Also provided are methods for reducing erosion on equipment by maintaining the discharge consistency from the plug formation device below 35 wt %. | 03-21-2013 |
| 20130011886 | METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A FERMENTATION PRODUCT FROM LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCKS - The present invention comprises pretreating a lignocellulosic feedstock with acid at a pH between about 2.0 and about 3.5 to produce a composition comprising an acid pretreated feedstock. The acid pretreated feedstock is then enzymatically hydrolyzed with cellulases and β-glucosidase. The glucose is fermented by microorganisms to produce a fermentation broth comprising the fermentation product, followed by recovery of the fermentation product. The steps of enzymatically hydrolyzing and fermenting are conducted at a pH below about 4.0. | 01-10-2013 |
| 20120329096 | RECOVERY OF INORGANIC SALT DURING PROCESSING OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCKS - A method for recovering inorganic salt during processing of a lignocellulosic feedstock is provided. The method comprises pretreating the lignocellulosic feedstock by adding an acid to the feedstock to produce a pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock. A soluble base is then added to the pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock to adjust the pH and produce a neutralized feedstock. The neutralized feedstock is then enzymatically hydrolyzed to produce an enzyme hydrolyzed feedstock and a sugar stream. Inorganic salt is recovered from either a stream obtained from the lignocellulosic feedstock prior to the step of pretreating, a stream obtained from the pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock, a stream obtained from the neutralized feedstock, a stream obtained from the sugar stream, or a combination of these streams. The inorganic salt may be concentrated, clarified, recovered and purified by crystallization, electrodialysis drying, or agglomeration and granulation, and then used as desired, for example as a fertilizer. | 12-27-2012 |
| 20120325203 | METHOD FOR SCALE REMOVAL DURING A LIGNOCELLULOSIC CONVERSION PROCESS - A method for processing of a lignocellulosic feedstock is provided comprising exposing lignocellulosic feedstock to acid in a reactor to hydrolyze at least hemicellulose present in said lignocellulosic feedstock, wherein during said exposing, a scale deposit comprising lignin forms on the inner surface of said reactor; and treating the scale deposit with an alkali solution at a temperature between about 140° C. and about 250° C. so as to remove scale. Also provided is a method for reducing scale deposit that forms on process equipment during a stage of reacting a lignocellulosic feedstock with acid. | 12-27-2012 |
| 20120252085 | METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A FERMENTATION PRODUCT FROM A PRETREATED LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCK - A method for obtaining a fermentation product from a sugar hydrolysate obtained from a feedstock containing hemicellulose, by (i) removing suspended fiber solids from said sugar hydrolysate to obtain a clarified sugar solution; (ii) fermenting xylose in the clarified sugar solution in a fermentation reaction with yeast to produce a fermentation broth comprising the fermentation product; (iii) separating the yeast from the fermentation broth to produce a yeast slurry; (vi) treating the yeast slurry thus obtained with an oxidant to kill microbial contaminants, thereby an oxidant-treated yeast slurry; (v) re-introducing at least a portion of the oxidant-treated yeast back to step (ii) to increase the concentration of yeast in said fermentation reaction; and (vi) recovering the fermentation product. | 10-04-2012 |
| 20120237983 | METHOD FOR INTRODUCING CELLULASE ENZYME TO LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCK SLURRY - The present invention provides a method for producing glucose from a lignocellulosic feedstock. The method comprises the steps of (i) providing a pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock slurry; (ii) moving the pretreated feedstock slurry through a pipe, which slurry has an undissolved solids content of between about 15 and about 30 wt %; (iii) adding cellulase enzyme to the pretreated slurry to produce a slurry comprising cellulase enzyme; (iv) dispersing the cellulase enzyme added in step (iii) in the pretreated slurry by using a high shear in-line mixing device, thereby producing a pretreated slurry comprising dispersed cellulase enzyme; and thereafter (v) subjecting the pretreated slurry comprising dispersed cellulase enzyme to hydrolysis so as to produce glucose from cellulose contained therein. | 09-20-2012 |
| 20120231514 | FERMENTATION METHOD TO PRODUCE A LIGNOCELLULOSE-BASED SUGAR STREAM WITH ENRICHED PENTOSE CONTENT - A method for producing a fermented solution enriched in xylose is provided. The sugar stream that is fermented results from the hydrolysis of a lignocellulosic feedstock and comprises at least a hexose and a pentose. The method comprises fermenting the sugar stream resulting from the hydrolysis of the lignocellulosic feedstock with a microorganism that preferentially ferments the hexose over the pentose. The fermenting is conducted under aerobic conditions and comprises continuously feeding the sugar stream to a fermentation reactor at a dilution rate that converts the hexose to cell mass preferentially over the pentose, thereby reducing the concentration of the glucose in the sugar stream so that the fermented solution thus produced is enriched in the pentose relative to said sugar stream. | 09-13-2012 |
| 20120215026 | RECOVERY OF VOLATILE CARBOXYLIC ACIDS BY EXTRACTIVE EVAPORATION - A process for recovering a volatile carboxylic acid from an aqueous stream containing same comprising the steps of: (a) evaporating the aqueous stream to produce a vapour stream comprising the volatile carboxylic acid that has been vapourized and water vapour, which aqueous stream is produced by a conversion process using a lignocellulosic feedstock as a substrate; (b) contacting the vapour stream with an organic solvent so as to extract the volatile carboxylic acid present in the vapour stream, thereby producing a liquid stream comprising the organic solvent and the volatile carboxylic acid, and a water vapour stream, wherein the organic solvent has an atmospheric boiling point of at least about 150° C. and is insoluble in water; and (c) separating the volatile carboxylic acid from the organic solvent. | 08-23-2012 |
| 20120209028 | RECOVERY OF VOLATILE CARBOXYLIC ACIDS BY A STRIPPER-EXTRACTOR SYSTEM - A process for recovering a volatile carboxylic acid from an aqueous stream comprising same, the process comprising the steps of: (i) steam stripping the carboxylic acid from the aqueous stream, which aqueous stream is produced by a conversion process using a lignocellulosic feedstock as a substrate, the steam stripping comprising contacting the aqueous stream with steam by flowing the aqueous stream and the steam countercurrent to one another, thereby producing a vapour stream comprising vapourized carboxylic acid and steam and a stripped aqueous stream; (ii) extracting the vapourized carboxylic acid with an organic solvent by contacting the vapour stream with the organic solvent to produce (a) a stream comprising the organic solvent and the carboxylic acid and (b) the steam at least substantially depleted of the carboxylic acid, wherein the organic solvent has an atmospheric boiling point of at least about 150° C. and is insoluble in water; (iii) returning the steam from step (ii) to the steam stripping step (step i) to further strip the carboxylic acid from the aqueous stream; and (iv) separating the carboxylic acid from the organic solvent. | 08-16-2012 |
| 20120023814 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THE LARGE SCALE COLLECTION, PREPARATION, HANDLING AND REFINING OF LIGNO-CELLULOSIC BIOMASS - A system for collecting ligno-cellulosic biomass over a large area to enable the commercial refining of biomass from 2,500 to in excess of 50,000 tons of biomass per day to produce ethanol or other products. The biomass is collected at a series of collection points and then transported through a network of conduit “loops” interconnecting each of the collection points and the central refining plant. The water used to transport the biomass, as a slurry, is recovered and sequentially recycled in the same pipeline system to push the biomass slurry around the system in a “loop”. | 02-02-2012 |
| 20110207192 | METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A FERMENTATION PRODUCT FROM A SUGAR HYDROLYSATE - The present invention relates to a method for producing a fermentation product from a sugar hydrolysate. The method comprises fermenting the sugar hydrolysate in a fermentation system with yeast to produce a fermentation broth comprising a fermentation product; introducing acid and an oxidant, such as chlorine dioxide, to the fermentation system so as to expose microbial contaminants in the fermentation system at one or more stages to chlorine dioxide and a pH of less than 3.0; and recovering the fermentation product. In one example of the invention, a yeast slurry obtained from a yeast recycle step is treated with acid and the oxidant. | 08-25-2011 |
| 20110188949 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR THE LARGE SCALE COLLECTION OF LIGNO-CELLULOSIC BIOMASS - A system for collecting ligno-cellulosic biomass over a large area to enable the commercial refining of biomass from 2,500 to in excess of 50,000 tons of biomass per day to produce ethanol or other products. The biomass is collected at a series of collection points and then transported through a network of conduit “loops” interconnecting each of the collection points and the central refining plant. The water used to transport the biomass, as a slurry, is recovered and sequentially recycled in the same pipeline system to push the biomass slurry around the system in a “loop.” The outgoing and return legs of each loop optionally are located adjacent each other. | 08-04-2011 |
| 20110159560 | MODIFIED YEAST STRAINS EXHIBITING ENHANCED FERMENTATION OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC HYDROLYSATES - The present invention relates to novel xylose-fermenting yeast strains (for example, yeast of the genus | 06-30-2011 |
| 20100317087 | MODIFIED CELLULASES WITH INCREASED THERMOSTABILITY, THERMOPHILICITY, AND ALKALOPHILICITY - A modified Family 6 cellulase enzyme comprising a proline residue at position 413 is provided. Genetic constructs and genetically modified microbes comprising DNA sequences encoding the modified Family 6 cellulase are also provided. Family 6 cellulases of the invention display improved thermostability, thermophilicity, alkalophilicity, or a combination thereof, relative to the parent Family 6 cellulases. Such cellulases find use in a variety of applications in industry that require cellulase stability and activities at temperatures, pH values, or both, above that of the native enzyme. | 12-16-2010 |
| 20100304438 | NOVEL BETA-GLUCOSIDASE ENZYMES - Provided are modified beta-glucosidase enzymes, derived from the | 12-02-2010 |
| 20100221819 | UPFLOW HYDROLYSIS REACTOR SYSTEM FOR HYDROLYZING CELLULOSE - A process for the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose to produce a hydrolysis product from a pre-treated cellulosic feedstock is provided. The process comprises introducing an aqueous slurry of the pre-treated cellulosic feedstock at the bottom of a hydrolysis reactor. Axial dispersion in the reactor is limited by avoiding mixing and maintaining an average slurry flow velocity of about 0.1 to about 20 feet per hour, such that the undissolved solids flow upward at a rate slower than that of the liquid. Cellulase enzymes are added to the aqueous slurry before or during the step of introducing. An aqueous stream comprising hydrolysis product and unhydrolyzed solids is removed from the hydrolysis reactor. Also provided are enzyme compositions which comprise cellulase enzymes and flocculents for use in the process. In addition, a kit comprising cellulase enzymes and flocculent is provided. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100221778 | NOVEL LIGNIN-RESISTANT CELLULASE ENZYMES - Provided are modified cellulase enzymes exhibiting increase cellulose-hydrolyzing activity in the presence of lignin and/or reduced binding to lignin comprising modified linker peptides comprising one or more amino acid substitutions, insertions, or deletions that result in (a) a decrease in the calculated isoelectric point of the linker peptide and/or (b) an increase in the ratio of threonine:serine in the linker peptide relative to a parental linker peptide from which said modified linker peptide is derived. Also provided are genetic constructs comprising nucleic acidsequences encoding for modified cellulase enzymes, methods for the production of the modified cellulase enzymes from host strains and a process for hydrolysing cellulose with the modified cellulases in the presence of lignin. | 09-02-2010 |
| 20100190226 | PROCESS FOR PRODUCING A PRETREATED FEESTOCK - A process for producing ethanol from a pretreated feedstock is provided. The feedstock is selected from grasses, cereal straws, stover, and combinations thereof, and least about 80% of the feedstock has a particle length of between about 2 cm and about 40 cm. This process comprises wetting the feedstock in liquid, pressing the wet feedstock through one roll press or a series of roll presses to remove at least a portion of water and soluble substances from the wetted feedstock and to shear the feedstock to produce feedstock particles of a size suitable for pumping at a solids concentration of about 8% to about 20% when slurried. At least one roll press, or at least one roll press in the series of roll presses comprises rolls with circumferential v-shaped grooves. The pressed feedstock particles are slurried to produce a slurried feedstock having a consistency of between about 8% and about 20%, and the slurried feedstock pumped into a pretreatment reactor. Dilute acid pretreatment of the slurried feedstock is carried out at a temperature of 160° C. to 280° C. | 07-29-2010 |
| 20100184151 | METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF GLUCOSE FROM LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCKS - A method for producing glucose from a lignocellulosic feedstock is provided. The method comprises pretreating the lignocellulosic feedstock with acid to produce a pretreated feedstock composition. A calcium-containing stream is provided that comprises calcium that is obtained from the lignocellulosic feedstock and a calcium carbonate-containing stream is obtained by precipitation of the calcium from the calcium-containing stream. The pH of the pretreated feedstock is adjusted with (a) the calcium carbonate-containing stream; (b) a calcium hydroxide-containing stream that is derived from said calcium carbonate-containing stream by subjecting said calcium carbonate-containing stream to calcination; or (c) a combination of the calcium carbonate-containing stream and the calcium hydroxide-containing stream. The pH adjustment results in a neutralized pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock having a pH between about 3 and about 9 and enzymatic hydrolysis of the neutralized, pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock is then conducted with cellulase enzymes to produce the glucose. | 07-22-2010 |
| 20100129880 | HOSTS AND FERMENTATION PROCESSES FOR CELLULASE PRODUCTION - A fermentation process for the production of cellulase mixtures is provided. The process comprises providing a genetically modified host filamentous fungus that overexpresses a Xyr1 transcription factor and/or that is partially or completely deficient in expressing one or more hemicellulase enzyme. The host filamentous fungus is cultured in a medium comprising a carbon source. The carbon source contains from about 60 wt % to about 100 wt % hemicellulose-derived carbohydrate and less than 5% of a cellulase-inducing carbohydrate or contains from about 25 wt % to about 100% wt % hemicellulose-derived sugar alcohol in combination with from about 0 wt % to about 75 wt % glucose, glycerol or a combination thereof. | 05-27-2010 |
| 20100093040 | MODIFIED BETA-GLUCOSIDASES WITH IMPROVED STABILITY - Provided are modified beta-glucosidase enzymes, derived from the | 04-15-2010 |
| 20100068768 | ENZYME COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR THE IMPROVED ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS OF CELLULOSE - A process for the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose to produce a hydrolysis product comprising glucose from a pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock and enzymes for use in the process are provided. The process comprises partially hydrolyzing an aqueous slurry of a pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock with cellulase enzymes, one or more than one β-glucosidase enzyme and a binding agent for binding the β-glucosidase enzyme to fiber solids present in the aqueous slurry. The unhydrolyzed fiber solids are then separated from the hydrolyzed slurry. The separated fiber solids thus obtained are then re-suspended in an aqueous solution to produce a re-suspended slurry. The hydrolysis is then continued to produce the hydrolysis product comprising glucose. | 03-18-2010 |
| 20100056774 | METHOD FOR LOW WATER HYDROLYSIS OR PRETREATMENT OF POLYSACCHARIDES IN A LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCK - A method is provided for hydrolyzing polysaccharides in a lignocellulosic feedstock to produce monosaccharides or pretreating a lignocellulosic feedstock, in which an aqueous slurry of the lignocellulosic feedstock is fed into a pressurized dewatering zone wherein the feedstock is partially dewatered and then is compressed into a plug. The plug is introduced into a reaction zone that operates at a pressure (P | 03-04-2010 |
| 20100055753 | METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CONCENTRATED ALCOHOL FROM FERMENTATION BROTHS - A method for obtaining a concentrated alcohol solution from a lignocellulosic feedstock. The lignocellulosic feedstock is hydrolyzed to prepare a sugar solution. The sugar solution is fermented to produce a fermentation broth comprising alcohol and at least about 1 g ammonium ions/kg fermentation broth. The alcohol in the fermentation broth is then concentrated by distillation to produce an alcohol-enriched vapour. Either before distillation, during distillation or during the azeotrope breaking process, the concentration of ammonia in the alcohol-enriched vapour can be reduced by acid addition to at most about 300 ppm. The alcohol in the alcohol-rich vapour is then further concentrated by an azeotrope breaking process to provide the concentrated alcohol solution. | 03-04-2010 |
| 20100041100 | FAMILY 6 CELLULASE WITH DECREASED INACTIVATION BY LIGNIN - A modified | 02-18-2010 |
| 20100016570 | MODIFIED FAMILY 6 GLYCOSIDASES WITH ALTERED SUBSTRATE SPECIFICITY - A modified Family 6 glycosidase enzyme comprising amino acid substitutions at one or more positions selected from the group 182, 367, 399, 400 and 427 is provided (the position determined form alignment of a parental Family 6 glycosidase with SEQ ID NO: 1). Genetic constructs and genetically modified microbes comprising nucleic sequences encoding the modified Family 6 glycosidase are also provided. Family 6 glycosidase of the invention display decreased hydrolysis activity of beta 1-4 linked polysaccharides and increased hydrolysis activity of beta 1-3, 1-4 linked polysaccharides compared with a parental Family 6 glycosidase. Such glycosidases find use in a variety of applications in industry, e.g., in hydrolysis of beta 1-3, 1-4 linked polysaccharides during the processing of cereal grains or the production of alcohol, animal feed or food products. | 01-21-2010 |
| 20100003733 | RECOVERY OF INORGANIC SALT DURING PROCESSING OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCKS - A method for recovering inorganic salt during processing of a lignocellulosic feedstock is provided. The method comprises pretreating the lignocellulosic feedstock by adding an acid to the feedstock to produce a pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock. A soluble base is then added to the pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock to adjust the pH and produce a neutralized feedstock. The neutralized feedstock is then enzymatically hydrolyzed to produce an enzyme hydrolyzed feedstock and a sugar stream. Inorganic salt is recovered from either a stream obtained from the lignocellulosic feedstock prior to the step of pretreating, a stream obtained from the pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock, a stream obtained from the neutralized feedstock, a stream obtained from the sugar stream, or a combination of these streams. The inorganic salt may be concentrated, clarified, recovered and purified by crystallization, electrodialysis drying, or agglomeration and granulation, and then used as desired, for example as a fertilizer. | 01-07-2010 |
| 20090209009 | ENZYME COMPOSITIONS FOR THE IMPROVED ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS OF CELLULOSE AND METHODS OF USING SAME - A process for the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose to produce a hydrolysis product comprising glucose from a pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock and enzymes for use in the process are provided. The process comprises hydrolyzing an aqueous slurry of a pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock with cellulase enzymes, one or more than one β-glucosidase enzyme and a binding agent for binding the β-glucosidase enzyme to fiber solids present in the aqueous slurry. During the hydrolysis, both the cellulase enzyme and β-glucosidase enzyme bind to the fiber solids. The hydrolysis is performed in a solids-retaining hydrolysis reactor so that unhydrolyzed fiber solids and bound enzyme are retained in the reactor longer than the aqueous phase of the slurry. | 08-20-2009 |
| 20090186381 | CELLULASE VARIANTS WITH REDUCED INHIBITION BY GLUCOSE - A Family 6 cellulase variant enzyme comprising one or more than one amino acid substitution selected from a basic, polar or non-polar amino acid at position 103, a valine or isoleucine at position 136, a tyrosine at position 186, a glutamic acid or glutamine at position 365 and a glutamine at position 410 is provided (said position determined form alignment of the parental Family 6 with SEQ ID NO: 1). Genetic constructs and genetically modified microbes comprising DNA sequences encoding the Family 6 cellulase variant are also provided. Family 6 cellulases of the invention display reduced inhibition by glucose relative to the parent Family 6 cellulases. Such cellulases find use in a variety of applications in industry, e.g., in the hydrolysis of pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock, that require cellulose activity in the presence glucose concentrations that would otherwise inhibit the activity of the parental enzyme. | 07-23-2009 |
| 20090061490 | METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A FERMENTATION PRODUCT FROM A PRETREATED LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCK - A method for obtaining a fermentation product from a sugar hydrolysate obtained from a feedstock containing hemicellulose, by (i) removing suspended fiber solids from said sugar hydrolysate to obtain a clarified sugar solution; (ii) fermenting xylose in the clarified sugar solution in a fermentation reaction with yeast to produce a fermentation broth comprising the fermentation product; (iii) separating the yeast from the fermentation broth to produce a yeast slurry; (vi) treating the yeast slurry thus obtained with an oxidant to kill microbial contaminants, thereby an oxidant-treated yeast slurry; (v) re-introducing at least a portion of the oxidant-treated yeast back to step (ii) to increase the concentration of yeast in said fermentation reaction; and (vi) recovering the fermentation product. | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090061486 | METHOD FOR CELLULASE PRODUCTION - A fermentation process using hemicellulose-derived carbohydrates for the production of cellulase mixtures with a high proportion of cellulases relative to hemicellulases is provided. The cellulases produced by the process of the invention are further characterized by high specific productivity. The resulting cellulase mixtures comprise at least two times more cellulase than hemicellulase and are useful for the hydrolysis of cellulosic substrated, particularly, pretreated lignocellulosic substrate. | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090061484 | ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCKS USING ACCESSORY ENZYMES - Provided is an enzyme mixture for hydrolyzing a pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock to soluble sugars. The enzyme mixture comprises EG4 at a fractional concentration (f | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090056707 | PROCESS OF REMOVING CALCIUM AND OBTAINING SULFATE SALTS FROM AN AQUEOUS SUGAR SOLUTION - The present invention provides a process for obtaining a product stream comprising one or more sulfate salts of potassium, sodium or ammonium from a sugar stream resulting from [processing a lignocellulosic feedstock, said sugar stream which includes calcium sulfate and one or more of these sulfate salts. The process comprises (i) treating the sugar stream to remove calcium, thereby producing a sugar stream containing substantially no calcium, and obtaining a salt stream comprising a calcium salt;(ii) choosing a feed stream that is either (a) a clarified salt stream derived from the salt stream of step (i) after removal of calcium therefrom; or (b) the sugar stream containing substantially no calcium that is produced in step (i); (iii) introducing the feed stream chosen in step (ii) to an ion exchange bed; and (iv) regenerating the ion exchange resin bed of step (iii) with sulfuric acid to produce the product stream. | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090035826 | METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ALCOHOL FROM A PRETREATED LIGNOCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCK - A process for the production of glucose from a pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock is provided. The method comprises enzymatically hydrolyzing the pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock with cellulase enzymes to produce a hydrolyzate slurry comprising glucose and unhydrolyzed cellulose and fermenting the hydrolyzate slurry in a fermentation reaction to produce a fermentation broth comprising alcohol. A process stream is obtained comprising unhydrolyzed cellulose, which is then subjected to a denaturing step, preferably comprising exposing the unhydrolyzed cellulose to elevated temperatures, thereby producing a heat-treated stream comprising the unhydrolyzed cellulose. The heat-treated stream comprising unhydrolyzed cellulose is then further hydrolyzed with cellulase enzymes to hydrolyze the cellulose to glucose. | 02-05-2009 |
| 20090023187 | Method of obtaining a product sugar stream from cellulosic biomass - A process for obtaining a product sugar stream from cellulosic biomass is disclosed. In one process, the cellulosic biomass is pretreated at a pH between about 0.4 to 2.0 by adding one or more than one acid to produce a pretreated cellulosic biomass comprising acetic acid. One or more than one base is then added to the pretreated cellulosic biomass to adjust the pretreated cellulosic biomass to a pH of about 4.0 to about 6.0 to produce a neutralized cellulosic biomass comprising inorganic salt and acetate salt. The neutralized biomass is then hydrolyzed by cellulase enzymes to produce a crude sugar stream. Insoluble residue is separated from the crude sugar stream and the resulting clarified sugar stream is treated using ion exclusion chromatography at about pH 5.0 to about 10.0 to produce one or more raffinate streams and a product stream. The raffinate stream comprises inorganic salts and acetate salts, and the product stream comprises sugar. The product stream may then be fermented or otherwise further processed. In an alternate process, a product sugar stream is obtained from a crude sugar stream that is produced from conversion of cellulosic biomass to sugar. The cellulosic biomass may be produced using any suitable method. In this process the crude sugar stream is treated using ion exclusion chromatography at about pH 5.0 to about 10.0 to produce one or more than one raffinate stream comprising sulfate and acetate salts, and a product stream comprising sugar, and the product sugar stream is obtained. | 01-22-2009 |
| 20080293114 | Method of Continuous Processing of Lignocellulosic Feedstock - A continuous process for treating a lignocellulosic feedstock is provided. This method comprises pretreating the lignocellulosic feedstock under pressure in a pretreatment reactor at a pH between about 0.4 and about 2.0. One or more than one soluble base is added to this pressurized, pretreated feedstock after it exits the pretreatment reactor to adjust the pretreated lignocellulosic feedstock to an intermediate pH of between about pH 2.5 to about pH 3.5. This pressurized, partially-neutralized feedstock is then further processed at the intermediate pH. This may include flashing one or more than one time at the intermediate pH. The pH of the pressurized, partially-neutralized feedstock may then be adjusted with one or more than one base to produce a neutralized feedstock having a pH between about 4 and about 6. Prior to adjusting the pH to between about 2.5 and about 3.5, the pressurized, pretreated feedstock may be partially depressurized. | 11-27-2008 |
