Methods and systems for starch based propagation of a microorganism

1. A method of producing a biochemical, the method comprising:

providing a ground grain slurry comprising starch;

hydrolyzing the starch from the ground grain slurry to produce a hydrolysate comprising at least one or more monosaccharides;

providing a propagation composition comprising at least a portion of the hydrolysate comprising the one or more monosaccharides, and a first cell mass of a microorganism;

exposing the propagation composition to conditions to propagate the first cell mass of the microorganism into a second cell mass of the microorganism, wherein the second cell mass is greater than the first cell mass of the microorganism;

providing a lignocellulosic hydrolysate comprising:

one or more saccharides derived from lignocellulosic feedstock, and

one or more toxins that are toxic to the microorganism;

providing a fermentation composition comprising:

at least a portion of the lignocellulosic hydrolysate, and

at least a portion of the second cell mass of microorganism; and

exposing the fermentation composition to conditions so that the at least a portion of the second cell mass of microorganism converts saccharides in the fermentation composition into a biochemical.

2. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the providing the propagation composition comprises hydrolyzing the starch from the ground grain slurry to produce the hydrolysate comprising the at least one or more monosaccharides, wherein the ground grain slurry comprises ground whole grain, and combining at least a portion of the hydrolysate comprising the one or more monosaccharides with the first cell mass of the microorganism to form the propagation composition,

and/or

wherein the providing the propagation composition comprises combining at least a portion of the ground grain slurry with the first cell mass of the microorganism, and hydrolyzing the starch from the ground grain slurry to produce the hydrolysate comprising the at least one or more monosaccharides in-situ while exposing the propagation composition to conditions to propagate the first cell mass of the microorganism into a second cell mass of the microorganism.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ground grain slurry is formed from grain chosen from corn, barley, wheat, sorghum, and combinations thereof.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ground grain slurry comprises ground corn.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the ground corn is formed by dry grinding whole corn.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the propagation composition further comprises one or more enzymes chosen from alpha-amylase, glucoamylase, and combinations thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microorganism is chosen from bacteria, fungi, and combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microorganism is from a genus chosen from Aspergillus, Candida, Pichia ( Hansenula ), Phanerochaete, Kloeckera ( Hanseniaspora ), Kluyveromyces, Rhodotorula, Torulopsis, Zygosaccharomyces, Yarrowia, Saccharomyces , and combinations thereof.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microorganism comprises Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the biochemical is chosen from ethanol, butanol, and combinations thereof.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the propagation composition further comprises a grain stillage composition, wherein the grain stillage composition is derived from distilling a corn grain fermentation product, and wherein the grain stillage composition is chosen from whole stillage, thin stillage, syrup, and combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more toxins are chosen from furfural, hydroxymethylfurfural, acetic acid, and combinations thereof.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lignocellulosic feedstock comprises corn stover and corn cobs, and the toxin comprises furfural.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more saccharides are formed by contacting ground corn stover and ground corn cobs with an aqueous composition to hydrolyze hemicellulose into one or more pentoses, wherein the aqueous composition comprises an acid and has a pH from 1 to 3, and wherein the aqueous composition is at a temperature in the range from greater than 110° C. to 170° C.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising, after contacting ground corn stover and ground corn cobs with an aqueous composition to hydrolyze hemicellulose into one or more pentoses, contacting ground corn stover and ground corn cobs with one or more cellulase enzymes to hydrolyze cellulose into glucose.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the toxin comprises acetic acid.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second cell mass of the microorganism is at least 1000 times greater in number than the first cell mass of the microorganism.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first cell mass of the microorganism is 5×10{hacek over ( )} 6 cells per milliliter of propagation composition or less, and the second cell mass of the microorganism is 1×10{hacek over ( )} 8 cells per milliliter of propagation composition or more.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising recovering the biochemical from a fermentation product.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the biochemical is recovered from the fermentation product by distilling.