Butanol production by fermentation: efficient bioreactors

Authors: MARIANO, ADRIANO - Universidade De Campinas (UNICAMP); EZEJI, THADDEUS - The Ohio State University; Qureshi, Nasib

Submitted to: The Royal Society of Chemistry
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/30/2015
Publication Date: 11/19/2015
Citation: Mariano, A.P., Ezeji, T.C., Qureshi, N. 2015. Butanol production by fermentation: Efficient bioreactors. In: Snyder, S.W., editor. Commercializing Biobased Products: Opportunities, Challenges, Benefits, and Risks, 2015. RSC Publishing, Cambridge, United Kingdom. p. 48-70. doi: 10.1039/9781782622444-00048.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Energy security, environmental concerns, and business opportunities in the emerging bio-economy have generated strong interest in the production of n-butanol by fermentation. Acetone butanol ethanol (ABE or solvent) batch fermentation process is product limiting because butanol even at low concentrations inhibits growth of fermenting microorganisms resulting in; i) low ABE yield usually 0.33, ii) use of dilute sugar solutions as substrates, iii) low concentration of butanol in the bioreactor, iv) energy intensive recovery of butanol due to low concentration in the fermentation broth, and v) generation of large effluent streams. Indeed, inhibitory property of butanol largely account for the long batch fermentation time (60 - 72 h) thus resulting in low ABE productivity. Cumulative effects of these factors hamper energy efficient production of butanol and hence scale-up and commercialization. Proficient production of butanol can be accomplished by the application of ‘‘cutting edge’’ science and technologies. This chapter describes novel bioreactors for butanol fermentation using different advanced fermentation systems such as free cell continuous, immobilized cell continuous and cell recycle continuous membrane reactors, and integrated continuous processes where product can be simultaneously recovered using energy efficient product recovery techniques.