Carbon sequestration in soils with production of chemical products
Inventors
Summers, Zarath Morgan • Simpson, Sean Dennis
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-12129503-B2
Publication Date
2024-10-29
Expiration Date
Abstract
Improving overall carbon capture specially carbon sequestration in soil and improving overall production yield of bio-derived chemical products and fuels by integrating microbial fermentation into nature-based solutions and natural climate solutions. Converting feedstock of biomass and optionally supplemental bio-derived material, wherein the biomass comprises harvested biodiverse above-ground plant material comprising at least about 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15 or 20 different species of plants from an area of land wherein the biodiverse above-ground plant material is harvested no more than one, two, or three times in a 12-month period of time to one or more products. In certain aspects, also disclosed are to processes for producing desirable products, such as ethylene, from biodiverse biomass.
Core Innovation
The disclosed invention integrates a nature-based carbon sequestration approach with a microbial gas-fermentation chemical production system. Harvested biodiverse above-ground plant material from a prairie or grassland, comprising at least about 10, 12, 15 or 20 different plant species, is harvested no more than one, two, or three times in a 12 month period, where harvesting no more than one, two, or three times stimulates sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in soil of the prairie or grassland. The harvested biomass is introduced into an anerobic digestion process to generate a biogas effluent comprising methane, with the feedstock optionally including supplemental bio-derived material.
At least a portion of the biogas effluent is passed with a stream comprising oxygen to a methane conversion process operating at methane conversion conditions, thereby generating a syngas stream comprising CO2, CO, and H2. The syngas stream is then passed to a microbial gas fermentation process comprising at least one C1 fixing microorganism and a nutrient solution in at least one bioreactor. The C1 fixing microorganism is cultured by fermentation to generate a fermentation broth comprising at least one chemical product, and the at least one chemical product is separated from the fermentation broth.
The integration is further defined by co-location, where the anerobic digestion process, the methane conversion process, and the microbial gas fermentation process are co-located with the prairie or grassland, or alternatively are located within a specified distance of one another. The document also describes optional supplemental bio-derived material inputs and downstream chemical processing, while tying the system to carbon sequestration in soil of the prairie or grassland through harvesting-limited biodiverse biomass.
Claims Coverage
The provided independent claims define an integrated method with four inventive-feature groupings: harvesting-limited biodiverse prairie or grassland biomass linked to soil CO2 sequestration, oxygen-assisted methane conversion to CO2/CO/H2 syngas, microbial gas fermentation using C1 fixing microorganisms to generate and separate chemical products, and co-location or limited distance constraints between process zones.
Harvested biodiverse prairie or grassland biomass with limited harvest frequency for soil CO2 sequestration
Harvesting harvested biodiverse above-ground plant material comprising at least about 10, 12, 15 or 20 different species of plants from a prairie or grassland no more than one, two, or three times in a 12 month period stimulates sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in soil of the prairie or grassland, where the harvested biodiverse above-ground plant material is introduced into an anerobic digestion process to generate at least a biogas effluent comprising methane, and where the feedstock comprises biomass and optionally supplemental bio-derived material.
Oxygen-assisted methane conversion to CO2/CO/H2 syngas
Passing a stream comprising oxygen and at least a portion of the biogas effluent to a methane conversion process operating at methane conversion conditions to generate a syngas stream comprising CO2, CO, and H2.
Microbial gas fermentation of C1 syngas in bioreactor using a nutrient solution
Passing the syngas stream to a microbial gas fermentation process comprising at least one C1 fixing microorganism and a nutrient solution in at least one bioreactor, culturing the C1 fixing microorganism in the bioreactor by fermentation to generate a fermentation broth comprising at least one chemical product, and separating the at least one chemical product from the fermentation broth.
Co-location or limited distance between digestion, conversion, and fermentation
The anerobic digestion process, the methane conversion process, and the microbial gas fermentation process are co-located with the prairie or grassland, and in another independent claim the anerobic digestion process, the methane conversion process, and the microbial gas fermentation process are located within 1 mile, within 2 miles, within 3 miles, within 4 miles, or within 5 miles of one another.
Across the independent claims, the main inventive features combine harvesting-limited biodiverse prairie or grassland biomass tied to claimed sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in soil, oxygen-assisted methane conversion of methane-containing biogas effluent to CO2/CO/H2 syngas, microbial gas fermentation using C1 fixing microorganisms in bioreactors to generate and separate chemical products, and process co-location or limited inter-process distance constraints.
Stated Advantages
Harnessing harvesting-limited biodiverse above-ground plant material to stimulate sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in soil of the prairie or grassland.
Producing syngas comprising CO2, CO, and H2 from methane-containing biogas effluent using oxygen-assisted methane conversion.
Generating and separating chemical products from a fermentation broth using C1 fixing microorganisms culturing by fermentation.
Documented Applications
An integrated nature-based carbon sequestration and microbial gas-fermentation system for generating and separating chemical products (notably ethylene; also ethanol and derivatives) from harvested biodiverse prairie/grassland biomass via anaerobic digestion, oxygen-assisted methane conversion, and microbial gas fermentation.
Carbon-sequestration credited as Carbon Emission Reduction Credits (CERCs)/EBCs based on soil CO2 sequestration stimulated by harvesting-limited biodiverse above-ground plant material.
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