Continuous Ethanol Production Using Immobilized-Cell/Enzyme Biocatalysts in Fluidized-Bed Bioreactor (FBR)

The immobilized-cell fluidized-bed bioreactor (FBR) was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Previous studies at ORNL using immobilized Zymomonas mobilis in FBR at both laboratory and demonstration scale (4-in-ID by 20-ft-tall) have shown that the system was more than 50 times as productive as industrial benchmarks (batch and fed-batch free cell fermentations for ethanol production from glucose). Economic analysis showed that a continuous process employing the FBR technology to produce ethanol from corn-derived glucose would offer savings of three to six cents per gallon of ethanol compared to a typical batch process. The application of the FBR technology for ethanol production was extended to investigate more complex feedstocks, which included starch and lignocellulosic-derived mixed sugars. Economic analysis and mathematical modeling of the reactor were included in the investigation. This report summarizes the results of these extensive studies