A liquid filtration system according to the present invention comprises a bioreactor; a filter configured to filter liquid passing therethrough; a perfusion pump configured to move liquid between the bioreactor and the filter; a liquid line providing fluidic communication between the bioreactor, perfusion pump and filter; and a bleed outlet provided on the liquid line, the bleed outlet configured to provide means to remove liquid selectively from the system under the action of the perfusion pump. With the liquid filtration system according to the present invention, both the filtering and bleed functions may be performed under the action of a single pump, thereby significantly reducing the complexity and cost of the components required.

An improved dry grind system and method for producing a sugar stream from grains or similar carbohydrate sources and/or residues, such as for biofuel production. In particular, a sugar/carbohydrate stream, which includes a desired Dextrose Equivalent (DE) where DE describes the degree of conversion of starch to dextrose (aka glucose) and/or has had removed therefrom an undesirable amount of unfermentable components, can be produced after saccharification and prior to fermentation (or other sugar conversion process), with such sugar stream being available for biofuel production, e.g., alcohol production, or other processes. In addition, the systems and methods also can involve the removal of certain grain components, e.g., corn kernel components, including protein, oil and/or fiber, prior to fermentation or other conversion systems. In other words, sugar stream production and/or grain component separation occurs on the front end of the system and method.

Protein-rich nutrient supplements and animal feed supplements derived from an anaerobic bacterial process are generated through a myriad of cell rupturing and protein fractionation/purification processes. Bacterial fermentation systems and methods of obtaining one or more protein-containing portions from a fermentation process using carbon monoxide-containing gaseous substrates are provided. The invention further provides compositions of protein-rich nutrient supplements with useful applications for intake by a variety of different animals and humans.

The present invention provides to a process for recovery of an organic compound (i.e. Ethanol, propanol, butanol, Acetone, iso-propyl alcohol) from a fermented broth which is produced from different fermentation technologies. The present invention particularly relates to an integrated process for ethanol separation from the fermentation broth using integrated vapor compressing unit (turbofans), evaporator (falling film) and a broth stripper column (vacuum distillation system). The process is operated under low temperature for the separation and recovery of the organic compound (particularly ethanol) from the fermented broth containing live microbes typically below or at 50° C. to ensure the activity of the microbes in the broth recycle. Again, the activity of the microbes is further ensured by maintaining the residence time of the microbe containing broth outside the Fermentor is less than or equal to 10 minutes.

Processes, systems, and associated control methodologies are disclosed that control the flow of biogas during the biogas cleanup process to create a more consistent flow of biogas through the digester, while also optimizing the output and efficiency of the overall renewable natural gas facility. In representative embodiments, a biogas buffer storage system may be used during the cleanup process to control the pressure and flow rate of biogas. The biogas buffer storage system may monitor and control the biogas flow rate to either bring down or increase the digester pressure, thereby maintaining a normalized biogas flow rate.

Provided are a cell-extruding device including a membrane module, and a cell-extruding method using the same, wherein a suspension including cells is efficiently dispersed in the membrane module, thus preventing membrane clogging and increasing the usable area of the membrane, and thereby replacing the membrane and carrying out the process are easy, and production efficiency is increased.

This nitrogen recovery method is for causing nitrifying bacteria to decompose an ammonia component in an ammonia-containing gas, and recovering a nitrogen component contained in ammonia as an ammonia gas decomposition product, involving: supplying circulating water to a microorganism decomposition tank retaining a nitrifying bacterium carrier carrying nitrifying bacteria to maintain the carrier wet; passing ammonia-containing gas through the carrier in the wet state in an oxygen-containing atmosphere; dissolving an ammonia component in the ammonia-containing gas in the circulating water, together with an ammonia gas decomposition product produced by the nitrifying bacteria, to continue decomposing the ammonia-containing gas while the decomposition product is accumulated in the circulating water; and collecting all or a portion of the circulating water to recover the ammonia gas decomposition product, when the concentration of nitrate ion as an ammonia decomposition product in the circulating water reaches a predetermined concentration of 5000 mg/L or more.

A filtration system for downstream processing of a suspension containing a labile solid material in a liquid medium, wherein dissolved gas in liquid environment is controlled to ensure optimal process conditions. The dissolved gas can be controlled by a gas-liquid interface by bubbling; a liquid-liquid interphase transfer process using a gas vector substance; a liquid-solid interphase transfer process using a gas permeable solid or a reaction evolving oxygen or other gas/gases. The retained solid material is removed in batch operations, continuous operations or mixed-type operations. The process can also include further filtration, heat-treatment, and removal of at least a part of the liquid. The filtration system could also process a concentrated suspension which is devoid of the free liquid, then heat-treated and the liquid produced by the treatment removed by further filtration. The solid material can be a biomass.

This disclosure is related to a process and apparatus for producing and recovering at least one fermentation product from a fermentation process using a C1-containing gas passed to a fermentation bioreactor, that produces a fermentation broth comprising at least one of a first product stream comprising ethanol and water or a second product stream comprising ethanol, acetone, and water or a third product stream comprising ethanol, acetone, isopropanol, and water. The product is recovered by using a shared product recovery system. Particularly, the shared product recovery system selectively recovers at least one enriched product stream selected from an enriched ethanol stream, an enriched acetone stream, an enriched isopropanol stream or combinations thereof. The shared product recovery system includes at least one of a vacuum distillation unit, a rectification unit, an acetone removal unit, a drying unit, an ethanol-acetone separation unit, an extractive distillation unit or combinations thereof.

Methods for generating methane from animal waste by anaerobic digestion using bacteria. A screen separator removes suspended solids greater in size than a predetermined size ranging from about 50μ to about 150μ. An electrocoagulation unit electrochemically hydrolyses the waste, causing particles to settle out. A dissolved carbon air flotation has a CO.sub.2 bubbler for separating large particles from small particles by flotation. An anaerobic digester produces biogas. The digester has a biocurtain for growing the bacteria and a heat exchanger for heating the bacteria. The biocurtain surface is convoluted to retain the bacteria. A membrane module removes CO.sub.2. A knock out pot for removes droplets of water. A scrubber removes water vapor, particulates, and contaminant gas. A compressor boosts pressure. A gas chromatograph monitors the biogas composition. A flare skid lowers excess pressure for safety. Biogas is injected into a local pipeline system. A process control is used for controlling the anaerobic waste digestion system.