Continuous production of carburant alcohol using Saccharomyces cerevisiae supported in chrysolite

• Grant number: 98/10180-4
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Research Partnership for Technological Innovation - PITE
• Start date: January 01, 1999
• End date: December 31, 2001
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Ines Joekes
• Grantee: Ines Joekes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Company: Sama Mineração de Amianto Ltda
• City: Campinas

Abstract

This project of technological innovation refers to the production of carburant alcohol by continuous process, derived from sugarcane, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae supported in chrysolite, aiming for its industrial implementation as replacement for the traditional, batch or semi-continuous process. The industrial implementation of a continuous process is a long-pursued aim of the productive sector, since it implies a reduction in installation and operational costs and enables the automation of the line, resounding in a reduction in the price of the ethanol produced. This price reduction is fundamental to make ethanol competitive with gasoline. The nub of the continuous process is the existence of a chemically, mechanically and biologically stable supported catalyst. We obtained a supported catalyst of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on chrysolite, in which the cells, becoming entrapped, not being removed, gain thermotolerance and display activity for up to a year after the preparation. Fermentation trials with bench-scale fixed bed reactors, using selected strains, displayed an efficiency and productivity considerably higher than the best values obtained with free cells operating in a continuous regime for up to a month. However, fixed bed are not the most indicated in project engineering. It still remains to increase the scale to confirm whether the increases in efficiency and productivity are maintained. (AU)