ENEOS has been granted a patent for a method of efficiently producing ethanol from lignocellulosic raw materials. The method involves performing multiple parallel fermentations while adding an additional saccharification enzyme to maintain the viscosity of the fermentation liquid within a specific range. The patent covers both continuous and semi-batch/batch systems, with different viscosity thresholds for enzyme addition. GlobalData’s report on ENEOS gives a 360-degree view of the company including its patenting strategy. Buy the report here.
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Method for producing ethanol from lignocellulosic raw material
A recently granted patent (Publication Number: US11773415B2) describes a method for producing ethanol from lignocellulosic raw materials. The method involves performing multiple parallel fermentations while continuously or intermittently adding an additional amount of a saccharification enzyme to the fermentation liquid. This helps maintain the viscosity of the fermentation liquid within a range of 300 cP or less. The viscosity is measured at 25°C and atmospheric pressure using a viscometer.
The patent claims specify different variations of the method, including continuous, semi-batch, and batch systems for the multiple parallel fermentations. In the continuous system, the additional saccharification enzyme is added when the viscosity exceeds 140 cP, while in the semi-batch or batch systems, the addition is initiated when the viscosity exceeds 4 cP.
To ensure high ethanol concentration, the method aims to maintain the ethanol concentration in the fermentation liquid at 80% or more relative to the concentration after 12 to 240 hours from the start of fermentation. The additional saccharification enzyme is added to the fermentation liquid in a specific range to maintain the enzyme basic unit at 0.1 to 30% relative to the initial enzyme basic unit after 1 to 12 hours from the start of fermentation.
The patent also specifies the mass ratio of the addition amount of the additional saccharification enzyme per day to the initial content of the saccharification enzyme in the fermentation liquid, which should be between 1:10 to 1:100. The amount of additional saccharification enzyme added to the fermentation liquid should be 20 U/L or less, and it can be added intermittently every 2 to 192 hours.
The concentration of the lignocellulosic raw material in the fermentation liquid is adjusted to be maintained at 5 to 30% by mass. The multiple parallel fermentations can be performed in at least two reaction tanks connected to each other, either in series or with continuous transfer of a part of the fermentation liquid from one tank to another.
The method also includes a step of solid-liquid separation to produce a solid content concentrated fermentation liquid, which is then transferred to a reaction tank after separating the aqueous ethanol solution.
Overall, this patented method provides a detailed approach for producing ethanol from lignocellulosic raw materials, focusing on maintaining viscosity, ethanol concentration, enzyme levels, and utilizing multiple parallel fermentations.
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GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
