RECOVERY OF BUTANOL FROM MODEL FERMENTATION BROTHS BY ADSORPTION ON ACTIVATED CARBON

摘要

The interest for the fermentative production of butanol (as bio-fuel or chemical) has increased in the last years mainly due to the increasing of oil price, the depletion of fossil resources and the CO_2 emissions. Bio-butanol is produced in ABE fermentation process. The butanol concentration in the broths at the end of the process is very low (10-20 g/L) because it causes the inhibition of the producing microorganism. From this fact, biobutanol needs to be continuously removed from the broth to avoid this inhibition process. In addition, an energy-efficient process must be developed to recover a product with a very low concentration that also presents an azeotrope with water mixtures.