A method of sorting waste material is disclosed herein, the method comprising separating materials in the waste material according to specific gravity, by contacting the waste material with a liquid selected such that a portion of the waste material sinks, to thereby obtain a sorted material containing at least 90 weight percents of material having a specific gravity within a pre-selected range. Further disclosed herein is a method of processing waste material by separating materials in the waste material according to specific gravity as described herein to remove at least a portion of inorganic materials in the waste material, and subjecting a feedstock comprising the obtained sorted material to mixing via shear forces and to heating. Further disclose herein are a polymeric material obtainable by the method of processing waste material, articles-of-manufacturing comprising same, and systems for sorting and processing waste material.

Spent stillage remaining after the fermentation of a feedstock for ethanol production may be processed to recover, use, and/or recycle the constituent components of the stillage. Stillage may be mixed, heated, and held at a desired temperature for a period of time. The stillage may then be cooled and treated with an enzyme. The enzymatically treated stillage may be emulsified with oil and water, and then permitted to settle into discrete layers. Individual layers may then be processed.

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for separating particulates from a liquid medium. Certain embodiments provide a method of continuously separating particulates from a liquid medium, the method comprising exposing a liquid medium comprising particulates to electrolysis so as to cause flocculation of the particulates, and continuously separating the flocculated particulates so produced from the liquid medium, thereby continuously separating the particulates from the liquid medium.

An adjustable harvest valve assembly for a bioreactor system which offers all of the benefits of a harvest port, while allowing cell-free liquid to be collected at various liquid heights and multiple times throughout the run.

A growth module for growing biomass comprising a plurality of growth columns connected together. Each growth column comprises a vertically oriented, hollow, translucent tubular body having input lines for introducing air, gas and nutrients into each column through the top thereof. The growth columns are frictionally mounted upon a bottom manifold that is configured for receiving gravity induced flow of biomass from said plurality of growth columns.

A method of separating waste material to a plurality of separated materials is disclosed herein. The method is effected by subjecting the waste material to a separation according to specific gravity, to thereby obtain two or more fractions, and optionally subjecting one or more of said fractions to additional separation procedures, to thereby obtain two or more of a low-density polymeric material, a high-density polymeric material, a metal, a glass, an oil, and lignocelluloses. The disclosed method can further be effected by processing one or more of the separated materials to thereby obtain one or more processed materials of a beneficial use. Further disclose herein are separated and/or processed materials obtainable by the method, articles-of-manufacturing comprising same, and systems for separating and/or processing the waste material.

In an embodiment of the invention, aqueous growth medium in a pond can be used to grow algae which can be pumped to a primary dewatering device where the algae can be separated from the harvested growth media based on the flow of the harvested growth media and gravity. The flow through the primary de-watering device can be optimized to maintain log phase growth in the pond, while minimizing the pumping cost and maximizing the concentration of total solids in the primary de-watered algae.

Separating apparatus, comprising a sedimentation settler and a collection vessel disposed underneath and being in fluid communication with the sedimentation settler, the collection vessel forming a receiving chamber having an outlet at or adjacent to the chamber bottom and having an inlet opening, wherein the collection vessel is arranged such the flow direction of the fluid in the area underneath the sedimentation settler is substantially in line with the direction of the channels of the sedimentation settler.

In an embodiment of the invention, aqueous growth medium in a pond can be used to grow algae which can be pumped to a primary dewatering device where the algae can be separated from the harvested growth media based on the flow of the harvested growth media and gravity. The flow through the primary de-watering device can be optimized to maintain log phase growth in the pond, while minimizing the pumping cost and maximizing the concentration of total solids in the primary de-watered algae.

A cell culture apparatus includes a culture tank having an inlet and an outlet, a culture-medium supplying unit that supplies a culture medium to the culture tank through the inlet, and a culture-medium discharging unit that discharges the culture medium through the outlet. The culture tank includes a division wall that can divide the internal space in a direction of gravity into an upper space and a lower space. The outlet opens into the upper space, and the division wall enables switching between a state where the internal space of the culture tank is divided into the upper space and the lower space and a state where the upper space and the lower space are in communication with each other.