Two-stage in situ gas stripping for enhanced butanol fermentation and energy-saving product recovery

Two-stage gas stripping for butanol recovery from acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation with Clostridium acetobutylicum JB200 in a fibrous bed bioreactor was studied. Compared to fermentation without in situ gas stripping, more ABE (10.0 g/L acetone, 19.2 g/L butanol, 1.7 g/L ethanol vs. 7.9 g/L acetone, 16.2 g/L butanol, 1.4 g/L ethanol) were produced, with a higher butanol yield (0.25 g/g vs. 0.20 g/g) and productivity (0.40 g/L·h vs. 0.30 g/L·h) due to reduced butanol inhibition. The first-stage gas stripping produced a condensate containing 175.6 g/L butanol (227.0 g/L ABE), which after phase separation formed an organic phase containing 612.3 g/L butanol (660.7 g/L ABE) and an aqueous phase containing 101.3 g/L butanol (153.2 g/L ABE). After second-stage gas stripping, a highly concentrated product containing 420.3 g/L butanol (532.3 g/L ABE) was obtained. The process is thus effective in producing high-titer butanol that can be purified with much less energy.