A system and method for the production of microbial consortiums and by-product material is provided. A physical containment system comprising phase spaces arranged in a discrete order to favor specific biological reactions is also provided. Phase profiles and phase data sets include the pre-determined physical and biological parameters for the phase space transitions. Movement of material from one phase to the next is hydraulically balanced enabling working fluid to continuously move in a fixed direction and rate of flow. Continuous monitoring of phase profiles and phase data sets provide feedback to the system enabling alteration of the conditions in the system to control reactions therein.

A method of using electricity to produce methane includes maintaining a culture comprising living methanogenic microorganisms at a temperature above 50° C. in a reactor having a first chamber and a second chamber separated by a proton permeable barrier, the first chamber comprising a passage between an inlet and an outlet containing at least a porous electrically conductive cathode, the culture, and water, and the second chamber comprising at least an anode. The method also includes coupling electricity to the anode and the cathode, supplying carbon dioxide to the culture in the first chamber, and collecting methane from the culture at the outlet of the first chamber.

The invention relates to a method for the biological in-situ methanation of CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 in a bioreactor. The method includes feeding an organic substrate into the bioreactor wherein at least part of the organic substrate is converted to a biogas comprising methane and carbon dioxide by means of microorganisms. The organic substrate includes crude fiber and at least 0.15 kg of crude fiber per m.sup.3 bioreactor volume per day is fed into to the bioreactor. The bioreactor is operated at between about 20-45° C. H.sub.2 is fed to the CO.sub.2 into the bioreactor to produce methane.

[Object]To provide a method and a system capable of, when a predetermined amount of biomass raw material is to be stored, controlling fermentation of the biomass raw material and further storing the biomass raw material safely for a predetermined period of time.

[Solving Means]The biomass raw material storage method of the present invention. is configured such that it includes a raw material analysis step of analyzing an amount of nutrients contained in an accepted organic energy resource, a raw material storage tank selection step of selecting, from among a plurality of raw material storage tanks, a raw material storage tank for storing the analyzed organic energy resource as biomass raw material, in reference to a result of the analysis and according to the amounts of nutrients contained in the organic energy resource, and a raw material fermentation controlling step of controlling fermentation of the biomass raw material in the raw material storage tank in which the biomass raw material is stored.

A gas-liquid-solid separator can include a separator body having a vertical outer wall and a gas collector having a vertical gas collector wall surrounded by the outer wall, with a gas inlet opening at a bottom of the gas collector. An annular volume between the gas collector wall and the outer wall can contain a plurality of inclined flow channels. The flow channels can have a channel inlet opening at the bottom and can slope upward following a helical path between the gas collector wall and the outer wall. A gas-liquid-solid mixture inlet opening can be in a floor of the separator body. The mixture opening can be positioned below the gas inlet opening and the mixture inlet opening can have a top-down profile that fits within a top-down profile of the gas inlet opening.

A biogas reactor is disclosed in which biogas is formed from organic matter. The biogas reactor includes a wall to form a tank structure enclosing a tubular reactor space in which organic matter can be placed to form biogas. The wall forming the tank structure is comprised of a helically wound hollow pipe profile to form a spiral arrangement. The hollow space within the hollow pipe profile accommodates a heat-transfer medium to influence the temperature of organic matter in the reactor space. Connections are provided for feeding organic matter to the reactor space and removing it from the reactor space, and one or more connections are provided for removing biogas from the reactor space. The invention also concerns methods for producing biogas and for manufacturing a biogas reactor.

An active solid state fermentation bioreactor for producing gases, liquid(s) or solids from gaseous or gaseous and liquid starting materials and a fermentation process using the reactor are disclosed, The bioreactor includes three major phases; a solid phase including the porous solid support, a liquid phase comprising liquid, and a gaseous phase. The solid phase includes a porous solid support, in which at least 20% of the pore volumes have a size resulting in a liquid suction of about 0.01 to about 0.1 bars if these pores are filled with liquid, the porous solid support is inoculated with desired micro-organisms, the volume of the gaseous phase is 20% to 60% of the volume of the bioreactor, and the liquid phase is at least 20% of the reactor volume, The unsaturated capillary conductivity of filling/packing solid material of the bioreactor is at least 0.1 cm/ h. The solid state fermentation bioreactor enables a large gas-liquid interface, in which the filling material has a good capillary conductivity despite the unsaturated state.

A bioreactor for producing hydrogen gas and other metabolites. The bioreactor utilizes light, fermentation, and other metabolic processes for the production of metabolites, derived from various microorganisms contained within the bioreactor through respective metabolic pathways. The bioreactor comprises a main reactor chamber, a semipermeable membrane, a sleeve, a power supply, a substrate medium, a heating member, a plurality of tubing members, a collection reservoir, a pressure-sealed connecter member, and an agitator.

A method of obtaining a compound may include adding a substrate to a medium in a reactor, and reacting the substrate in the reactor to form the compound. A first stream is separated from the reaction liquid through a first membrane. A second stream is separated from the reaction liquid through a second membrane. The first membrane is a filtration membrane and the second membrane is configured for liquid-gas or liquid-liquid extraction The first membrane and the second membrane are at least partially immersed in the medium and are moved relative to the reactor during the separation steps.

A device for the decentralized and continuous production of biomass at home, which comprises: a culture container for continuous processes, in batch and in a fed batch connected to a system that provides gaseous components; and all the supplied components are sterilized by a filter; a solids dispenser that is connected to a solids reservoir, and which can quantify the dispensed solids; a dissolving-unit that is connected to the solids dispenser, to a liquids metering pump, and to a purified water generation system, and where the dissolving-unit exit is connected to the culture tank by the culture medium filters; and the latter communicate the fluids with the dissolving-unit and the culture tank; a device that contains and dispenses the inoculum that initiates the culture, and which is connected to the culture tank; a temperature-controlled rotary drum system is connected to the culture tank to separate the biomass, with a drain of liquids; a sterilizer is connected to the culture tank and the associated filters; a microprocessor with instructions to control the variables of the process, which is connected to a user interface; and connections to a water source, electric power source, drain of liquids, and to Internet and servers with AI. Procedure for the continuous production at home of biomass using said device.