Process intensification of cellulosic biofuel production using continuous product extraction with microbubble technology

This project will investigate the application of microbubbles for the continuous removal of ethanol from cultures of a thermophilic bacterium which is known to grow well on lignocellulosic feedstocks (eg food processing wastes or treated municipal solid waste.) Perelemax Ltd have invented a novel method for the inexpensive generation of microbubbles, bubbles which are much smaller than those typically generated in a fermentation process. Their size means that for a fixed volume there is a much higher bubble surface area through which transfer of ethanol to the bubble occurs. Assuming the bacteria are able to withstand the effects of sparging with microbubbles we hope to demonstrate that this approach can improve the economics of ethanol production from lignocellulose, thus reducing the cost of sutainably produced biofuels.