Process for providing ethanol from plant material
View Patent ↗The presently disclosed subject matter relates to processes that comprise the vacuum extrusion of plant materials. In some embodiments, the plant materials are subjected to a change in pressure of −3 kPa or more. The vacuum extrusion can be used to break open the cell walls of the plant material and of any undesirable micro-organisms associated with the plant material. In some embodiments, the vacuum extrusion can be used as a step in a process for producing ethanol from plant materials, such as from sugar beets. In some embodiments, the vacuum extrusion can be used in a process for providing a desired plant cell-derived molecule, such as a sugar or starch.
1. A method of producing a biofuel, the method comprising:
a) compressing sugar beet plant material to provide a compressed plant material;
b) vacuum extruding the compressed plant material wherein the vacuum extruding comprises subjecting the compressed plant material to a reduction in pressure of between about 3 kPa to about 100 kPa to produce an extruded brei;
c) fermenting the extruded brei of b) to provide a fermented mixture; and
d) producing said biofuel, wherein the biofuel is ethanol, wherein at least about 19% to about 25% more ethanol is produced compared to conventional sugar beet plant-to-ethanol processes, wherein the conventional plant-to-ethanol process is performed in the absence of a vacuum extruding step.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vacuum extruding of b) comprises introducing the compressed plant material of a) to a vacuum chamber and operating the vacuum chamber at between about 90% and about 99% vacuum.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sugar beet plant material of a) is mashed or crushed.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sugar beet plant material of a) is heated to between about 70° C. to about 90° C.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein ethanol by volume is at least 9.5%, calculated based on the volume of the extruded brei.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fermented mixture of c) is subjected to distillation to separate the ethanol from the fermented mixture, thereby providing a residual fermented mixture.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the residual fermented mixture is introduced into a biogas reactor.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the distillation is performed using energy produced from a biogas reactor.