A crystalline pigment or colorant composition having high color intensity and/or low sugar content, and methods and processes of preparation. The composition may comprise purified fruit and/or vegetable color juices.

The present invention provides for passive VOC recovery in the fermentation process that does not affect or minimally affects the conditions within the fermentor vessel and does not affect or minimally affects the conditions within the headspace of the fermentor vessel itself while using the production of CO.sub.2 emitted during the fermenting process as the source of driving energy to move a portion of the gaseous/vaporous material in the headspace of the fermentor through an appropriately sized conduit to a chilled surface condensing device to condense the VOCs (principally ethanol) for recovery and to exhaust the CO.sub.2 to the atmosphere or to recover the CO.sub.2 for other uses. The conduit from the headspace of the fermentor to the condenser is sized to provide a flow restriction in a selected range such that the headspace equilibria are not affected while allowing a portion of the gaseous/vaporous material in the headspace to move through the conduit in response to the generation of the CO.sub.2 during the fermentation process.

A distillation system includes a pot and a rectification column. Vapor is produced in the pot and the rectification column receives the vapor from the pot. The rectification column includes a first plate, a first ring, and a fluid distribution system. The first plate is positioned within the rectification column. The first ring is positioned within the rectification column. The first ring includes a first plurality of apertures. The fluid distribution system receives a pressurized cleaning fluid and provides the pressurized cleaning fluid to the first ring such that the pressurized cleaning fluid is propelled from the first ring via the first plurality of apertures into the rectification column. At least some of the first plurality of apertures are configured to cause the pressurized cleaning fluid propelled therefrom to contact the first plate.

The present disclosure relates to processes for production of alkene products from their alkene precursors, such as 3-hydroxyacid and alcohols, via either (1) high temperature reactive distillation with steam contact at optimal pH, (2) solvent extraction and Mulzer dehydration, (3) solid phase adsorption, desorption into an organic solvent and catalytic reaction and (4) high temperature reactive distillation with steam contact at optimal pH followed by catalytic conversion.

The present disclosure relates to processes for production of alkene products from their alkene precursors, such as 3-hydroxyacid and alcohols, via either (1) high temperature reactive distillation with steam contact at optimal pH, (2) solvent extraction and Mulzer dehydration, (3) solid phase adsorption, desorption into an organic solvent and catalytic reaction and (4) high temperature reactive distillation with steam contact at optimal pH followed by catalytic conversion.

The present invention relates to processes to remove butanol and other product alcohols from a fermentation broth employing vacuum vaporization.

A method for removing contaminants such as pesticides and fungicides from cannabinoid extracts. Cannabinoid extracts containing contaminants may be dissolved in a water and ethanol solution, and then cooled to allow water-soluble contaminants to settle out of the mixture. The water and ethanol may then be removed via evaporation or distillation, leaving purified cannabinoids without contaminants. Contaminant removal may be incorporated into a method for producing a blended extract of cannabinoids and terpenes, which extracts terpenes using supercritical CO2, and extracts a cannabinoid concentrate from the residual material using a cold ethanol flush followed by distillation and then by contaminant removal; the CO2-extracted terpenes are then added back to the purified cannabinoid concentrate in a final blending step. Blending terpenes at the end of extraction may enhance the flavor and effectiveness of the purified cannabinoid concentrate.

Biomass feedstocks (e.g., plant biomass, animal biomass, and municipal waste biomass) are processed to produce useful products, such as fuels. For example, systems are described that can convert feedstock materials to a sugar solution, which can then be fermented to produce ethanol. Biomass feedstock is saccharified in a vessel by operation of a jet mixer, the vessel also containing a liquid medium and a saccharifying agent.

Processes and systems are provided to compress vapors produced in distillation and recover the heat of condensation through mechanical vapor compression and to derive mechanical and electrical energy from a combined heat and power system, while maintaining the plant's original ability to operate. The plant's existing distillation system, steam generation, and electrical demand determine the design basis for the retrofit system that is targeted at an optimized combination of energy usage, energy cost, and environmental impact. Mechanical vapor compression minimizes the total energy usage. Combined heat and power provides a means of converting energy between fuel, electricity, and thermal energy in a manner that best complements plant requirements and energy economics and minimizes inefficiencies and energy losses.

Processes and systems are provided to compress vapors produced in distillation and recover the heat of condensation through mechanical vapor compression and to derive mechanical and electrical energy from a combined heat and power system, while maintaining the plant's original ability to operate. The plant's existing distillation system, steam generation, and electrical demand determine the design basis for the retrofit system that is targeted at an optimized combination of energy usage, energy cost, and environmental impact. Mechanical vapor compression minimizes the total energy usage. Combined heat and power provides a means of converting energy between fuel, electricity, and thermal energy in a manner that best complements plant requirements and energy economics and minimizes inefficiencies and energy losses.