Enhanced Biofuel Production via Integrated Microbubble Technology

Energy efficient microbubbles generated by fluidic oscillation are a recent advance in bio/chemical

processing, with applications to lab and industrial scale bioreactors. Because the microbubbles are

generated cheaply and controllably, they have been shown at the lab scale to lead to substantially lower

costs / higher productivity for transfer processes in bioreactors. In this programme, microbubbles will

be developed for selected microbial processes. The commercial exemplars are three major aspects of

bioethanol production -- yeast propagation (aerobic), fermentation (anerobic), & distillation operations,

with the promise of a paradigm shift in energy efficiency and productivity. In addition, studies at the lab

& pilot scale will form the basis for design and operation guidelines, engaging the whole supply chain to

plan incorporation in industrial plant to estimate CAPEX, OPEX, and benefits for economic assessment.

The new paradigm should be equally applicable to other bioliquid/biochemical processing from biomass.