| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3452 | Biochemical Engineering Journal | 2013 | 5 Pages |
A perfluoropolymer (PFP) membrane has been prepared for use in vapor permeation to separate aqueous ethanol mixtures produced from rice straw with xylose-assimilating recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae. PFP membranes commonly have been used for dehydration process and possess good selectivity and high permeances. The effects of by-products during dilute acid pretreatment, addition of yeast extract, and ethanol fermentation on PFP membrane performance were investigated. While feeding mixtures of ethanol (90 wt%) in water, to which individual by-products (0.1–2 g/L) were added, the PFP membrane demonstrated no clear change in permeation rate (439–507 g m−2 h−1) or separation factor (14.9–23.5) from 2 to 4 h of the process. The PFP membrane also showed no clear change in permeation rate (751–859 g m−2 h−1) or separation factor (12.5–13.8) while feeding the mixture (final ethanol conc.: 61 wt%) of ethanol and distillation of the fermentation broth using a suspended fraction of dilute acid-pretreated rice straw for 20 h. These results suggest that the PFP membrane can tolerate actual distillation liquids from ethanol fermentation broth obtained from lignocellulosic biomass pretreated with dilute acid.
► Ethanol was produced from dilute acid-pretreated rice straw. ► By-products during ethanol fermentation process were showed in detail. ► Perfluoropolymer membrane was applied to vapor permeation. ► Perfluoropolymer membrane tolerated individual by-products. ► Perfluoropolymer membrane tolerated fermentation broth from acid-pretreated rice straw.
