The present invention relates to processes for recovering butanol produced in a fermentative process using, for example, an ethanol production plant which has been reversibly-retrofitted for butanol production, that is, the ethanol production plant may be converted for butanol production, but can also revert to an ethanol production. The present invention also relates to processes for recovering butanol produced in a fermentative process in a butanol production plant that may be converted to ethanol production plant.

A bioreactor suitable for perfusion culture of three-dimensional tissues and cells which includes a reaction chamber, a reservoir and a peristaltic pump connected in turn via infusion tubes, wherein the reaction chamber comprises a cover body and a box body including side walls, a bottom wall, a cut-off device, an overflow plate, a screen frame, a static pressure tank, a drainage chute and a drainage trench. The cut-off device is a floodgate or a weir dam. An overflow port which cooperates with the drainage trench is provided, and the screen frame is fixed to two side walls of the box body. The invention can solve the problem of cell death easily caused by non-uniformity of the flow field and uneven transfer of nutrient in the existing perfusion culture, is suitable for three-dimensional culture of tissues and cells, and can improve quality of tissue engineering products.

A bioreactor for cell culture comprising, a first set of open top troughs that are interconnected by a first set off low channels to form a first cascade, a second set of open top troughs that are interconnected by a second set of flow channels to form a second cascade, and a set of interconnecting flow channels coupled between the first cascade and the second cascade, wherein the first cascade circulates a fresh media and the second cascade circulates a cell culture and a first quantity of the fresh media from first cascade is supplied to the second cascade through the set of interconnecting flow channels when a second quantity of cell culture is removed from the second cascade.

A bioreactor is provided that includes a main reactor having a configuration selected from the group consisting of stirred and unstirred tank reactor, trickle bed reactor (TBR), cocurrent contactor (CCC), moving bed bioreactor (MBBR), and a bubble column reactor. The bioreactor also includes a growth reactor continuous with the main reactor and having a configuration selected from the group consisting of stirred and unstirred tank reactor, trickle bed reactor (TBR), cocurrent contactor (CCC), moving bed bioreactor (MBBR), and a bubble column reactor. A method is also provided where acetogenic bacteria are contacted with syngas in a growth fermentor section of a reactor vessel that is continuous with a main fermentor section of a reactor vessel.

Integrated methanogenic anaerobic reactor and membrane bioreactor, and method for eliminating organic matter and nitrogen in urban or industrial wastewater, preferably with COD concentrations between 150 and 5000 mg/L and where the eliminations of total nitrogen that occur are between 15 and 50 mg/L, at temperatures above 15° C. The wastewater treatment takes place thanks to three stages of treatment: methanogenic anaerobic stage, anoxic stage with biofilms and suspended biomass and aerobic filtration stage with biofilms and suspended biomass.

A consumable container for filling with a fluid in a bioprocessing process. The container comprises one or more sealable, removable portions, such that one or more samples of the fluid may be taken by sealing and removing one or more of said portions.

The apparatus includes: a pretreatment tank where biomass and a first acid solution are stirred to extract sugar components from the biomass; a hydrolysis tank where water is added to the pretreated mixture transferred from the pretreatment tank such that the concentration of the acid is reduced and the sugar components are hydrolyzed to produce an acid hydrolyzate; a first sugar-acid separation tank where the acid hydrolyzate is separated into a second acid solution and a first hydrolyzate; a second sugar-acid separation tank where the first hydrolyzate is separated into a third acid solution and a second hydrolyzate; a fermentation tank where the second hydrolyzate is fermented to produce bioenergy; and an acid solution concentration tank where a mixture of the second acid solution transferred from the first sugar-acid separation tank and the third acid solution transferred from the second sugar-acid separation tank is concentrated to a higher level for reuse.

According to present disclosure, there is disclosed an algae growth and cultivation system that provides a cost-efficient means of producing algae biomass as feedstock for algae-based products, such as, biofuel manufacture, and desirably impacts alternative/renewable energy production, nutrient recovery from waste streams, and valued byproducts production. The system as discussed herein is an integrated systems approach to wastewater treatment, algal strains selection for byproducts production, and recycle of algal-oil extraction waste or additional algae harvested as feedstock for fertilizer production. Embodiments of a system as discussed herein present an economically viable algae production system and process that allows algae-derived products such as biofuels, fertilizer, etc. to compete with petroleum products in the marketplace.

Acoustophoretic devices and methods for separating biological cells (particularly T-cells) from other fluids/materials using multi-dimensional acoustic standing waves are disclosed. The devices include an inlet, at least two outlets, and a flow chamber having an ultrasonic transducer-reflector pair. Specifically, T cells, B cells, or NK cells can be separated from other blood components. A dual-pass acoustophoretic system including two acoustophoretic devices arranged in series and fluidly connected to one another is also illustrated. Means for pre-chilling the mixture prior to separation in the devices or system can be used to improve retention, concentration, and clarification and to prevent outgassing.

A lactic acid adsorbent includes a layered double hydroxide that contains multiple metal hydroxide layers and also contains anions and water molecules held between the metal hydroxide layers. The anions include (i) an amino acid such as glutamine, (ii) a dipeptide constituted by one or two kinds of amino acids such as glutamine, (iii) a vitamin such as ascorbic acid 2-phosphate, (iv) a pH buffer such as MES, (v) a glucose metabolite such as pyruvic acid, or (vi) inorganic ions selected from a group including NO.sub.3.sup.− and Cl.sup.−.