Issue 12, 2020

Low energy intensity production of fuel-grade bio-butanol enabled by membrane-based extraction

Abstract

Widespread use of biofuels is inhibited by the significant energy burden of recovering fuel products from aqueous fermentation systems. Here, we describe a membrane-based extraction (perstraction) system for the recovery of fuel-grade biobutanol from fermentation broths which can extract n-butanol with high purity (>99.5%) while using less than 25% of the energy of current technology options. This is achieved by combining a spray-coated thin-film composite membrane with 2-ethyl-1-hexanol as an extractant. The membrane successfully protects the micro-organisms from the extractant, which, although ideal in other respects, is a metabolic inhibitor. In contrast to water, the extractant does not form a heterogeneous azeotrope with n-butanol, and the overall energy consumption of for n-butanol production is 3.9 MJ kg−1, substantially less than other recovery processes (17.0–29.4 MJ kg−1). By (a) extracting n-butanol from the fermentation broth without a phase change, (b) breaking the heterogeneous azeotrope relationship (less energy consumption for distillation), and (c) utilizing a small volume ratio of extractant : fermentation broth (1 : 100, v/v), the need for high energy intensity processes such as pervaporation, gas stripping or liquid–liquid extraction is avoided. The application of this perstraction system to continuous production of a range of higher alcohols is explored and shown to be highly favourable.

Graphical abstract: Low energy intensity production of fuel-grade bio-butanol enabled by membrane-based extraction

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
11 Вер 2020
Accepted
23 Жов 2020
First published
24 Жов 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Energy Environ. Sci., 2020,13, 4862-4871

Low energy intensity production of fuel-grade bio-butanol enabled by membrane-based extraction

J. H. Kim, M. Cook, L. Peeva, J. Yeo, L. W. Bolton, Y. M. Lee and A. G. Livingston, Energy Environ. Sci., 2020, 13, 4862 DOI: 10.1039/D0EE02927K

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