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High-Performance, Low-Cost
Pervaporation Modules for Ethanol Extraction--CeraMem Corporation,
Dr. Richard J. Higgins,
Principal Investigator, higgins@ceramem.com
Dr. Robert L. Goldsmith,
Business Official, goldsmith@ceramem.com
DOE Grant No. DE-FG02-03ER83626
Amount:
$100,000
Demand for ethanol as an oxygenated additive for gasoline
is expected to grow substantially over the next few years.
Most ethanol is produced via fermentation of sugars derived from corn and
is comparatively expensive, in large part due to the high capital and energy
costs for fermentation and for separating the product from the fermentation
broths. Technologies to improve the
efficiency of ethanol separation and to better integrate the fermentation and
downstream separation processes are needed to lower the cost of fuel ethanol.
This project will develop novel, low-cost inorganic membrane modules that
have superior separation properties for extracting ethanol from fermentation
broths and that will facilitate the integration of fermentation and ethanol
separation, thereby significantly improving the energy efficiency and related
costs. In Phase I, the feasibility of fabricating the high-performance inorganic
membrane modules with the required ethanol separation properties will be
established. Small membrane modules
will be fabricated and tested in the laboratory for their ability to separate
ethanol from ideal ethanol-water feed solutions and from simulated fermentation
broths.
Commercial
Applications and Other Benefits as described by awardee:
The technology should provide important reductions in both initial
capital cost and capital recovery costs by reducing equipment costs for both
fermentation and downstream processing systems.
This could be an important step in reducing the costs of fuel ethanol
from corn (and other substrates) and in helping fuel ethanol become more
cost-competitive with petroleum-based fuels.
Furthermore, the proposed pervaporation membrane modules should be
applicable to other fermentations used in the production of chemical and
pharmaceutical products.