US 11,932,818 B2
Tail gas of gas fermentation to dry gasification feedstock
Allan Haiming Gao, Skokie, IL (US); and Robert John Conrado, Skokie, IL (US)
Assigned to LanzaTech, Inc., Skokie, IL (US)
Filed by LanzaTech, Inc., Skokie, IL (US)
Filed on Feb. 19, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/180,619.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/990,148, filed on Mar. 16, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0284926 A1, Sep. 16, 2021
Int. Cl. C12M 1/107 (2006.01); C10J 3/86 (2006.01)
CPC C10J 3/86 (2013.01) [C12M 21/04 (2013.01); C10J 2300/0923 (2013.01); C10J 2300/0946 (2013.01); C10J 2300/0956 (2013.01); C10J 2300/1223 (2013.01); C10J 2300/1681 (2013.01); C10J 2300/1807 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
a) heating a drying gas;
b) providing the heated drying gas to a dryer containing a gasification feedstock, and directly contacting the drying gas with the gasification feedstock to generate a dried gasification feedstock;
c) passing at least a portion of the dried gasification feedstock to a gasification process, and gasifying the dried gasification feedstock to generate syngas;
d) fermenting at least a portion of the syngas in a bioreactor using a microorganism to generate tail gas, and a fermentation broth comprising at least one product and microbial biomass comprising the microorganism;
e) passing the fermentation broth to a product recovery process to produce a microbial biomass depleted water stream, a crude ethanol stream, a fusel oil stream and a product stream, wherein microbial biomass comprising the microorganism is separated from the fermentation broth;
f) drying at least a portion of the microbial biomass comprising the microorganism;
g) passing at least a portion of the dried microbial biomass of step (f) to the gasification process gasifying the dried microbial biomass to generate syngas, and sending the syngas to the bioreactor of step (d), and further passing at least a portion of a stream selected from the microbial biomass depleted water stream, the crude ethanol stream, the fusel oil stream, and any mixture thereof to the gasification process; and
h) utilizing at least a portion of the tail gas to provide heat for heating the drying gas.