112
Membrane
Dr. Yong Ding,
Dr. Benjamin Bikson, Business
Official, bbikson@porogen.com
DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-05ER84250
Amount: $100,000
Bioethanol is an established
domestic chemical/fuel product that is environmentally friendly and offers the
possibility of strengthening American farm economy while simultaneously
lowering dependence on the foreign oil.
However, the benefits are limited because, during the fermentation
process, the build up of ethanol negatively impacts the fermentation
microorganism, thereby decreasing process efficiency and increasing energy
consumption. To address this problem, an
ethanol production process will be developed in which fermentation is combined
with a membrane separation process that continuously extracts ethanol from the
fermentor, while leaving the microorganism intact.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The new membrane process should reduce the
cost of bioethanol production by integrating ethanol separation with
fermentation. As a renewable energy source
and fossil fuel substitute, low cost bioethanol production will reduce