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Production of ethanol by coupling fermentation and solvent extraction

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Summary

A new technology of fermentation is proposed. The inhibitor product is removed continuously by coupling fermentation and solvent extraction. Applied to ethanol fermentation this technology is suitable to any case where the terminal product is inhibitory.

The proposed technology uses both plug flow reactor and liquid-liquid extraction to achieve continuously the extractive fermentation of ethanol. The solvent used for liquid-liquid extraction is dodecanol. A new reactor was used. It is a column packed with a porous material . The fermentation broth is pulsed (a) to increase the interfacial area between the liquid medium and the dodecanol, and (b) to: decrease the gas hold up.

Alcoholic fermentations were performed on glucose syrup at 35°C using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with adsorbed cells as reference, with adsorbed cells and extractive fermentation. The results show that the fermentation is substantially improved. By this new method the ethanol productivity was multiplied by 5 and a solution of 407 g/l of glucose was totally fermented with a yeast which cannot normally transform more than 200 g/l glucose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Département de Génie Biochimique et Alimentaire, ERA-CNRS n° 879 Institut National des Sciences Appliquées, Avenue de Rangueil, F-31077, Toulouse Cedex

    M. Minier & G. Coma

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  1. M. Minier
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  2. G. Coma
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Minier, M., Coma, G. Production of ethanol by coupling fermentation and solvent extraction. Biotechnol Lett 3, 405–408 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01134098

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01134098

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