I-Corps: Bioprocess producing high-value caproic and caprylic bio-oil from fermentation and organic waste streams

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是将来自低价值原料的高价值生物油商业化，特别是乳制品加工和其他农业废弃物。能够发酵的生物过程被称为羧酸盐平台，产生的生物油主要由己酸盐(C6)和辛酸酯(C8)组成，这两种化合物是中链羧酸盐(MCC)。使用含有乙醇的原料，羧酸盐平台提供可持续的MCC产品，其市场价值是原料的五倍。使用乳品加工废流有望通过废物修复将原料采购成本转化为可观的收入。此外，MCC目前是从棕榈油中提取的，该行业由于大规模砍伐森林和温室气体排放而引起了严重的生态问题。MCC的原始形式目前直接用作动物饲料补充剂，但经过精制后，还可用于制造洗涤剂、护理产品、塑料、涂料和药品，以及许多其他应用。这个i-Corps项目将探索发酵生物过程的商业化，该过程生产主要由己酸酯(C6)和辛酸酯(C8)组成的生物油。这一生物过程被称为羧酸盐平台，已经证明可以长期稳定地生产生物油，被证明对系统干扰具有抵抗力，并与各种原料兼容。使用从生物乙醇工业获得的含有乙醇的原料，已经获得了与厌氧消化产生甲烷的速率具有竞争力的速率。羧酸盐平台采用了厌氧消化的知识，厌氧消化是一种广泛使用和可扩展的生物过程，使用开放培养从有机废物中产生甲烷气体。由羧酸盐平台生产的生物油的每碳价值是甲烷的30倍，使该平台成为有机废物修复的厌氧消化的有吸引力的替代方案。特别有希望的是将乳制品过程中的废弃物转化为这种宝贵的生物油的可能性。该项目的一个关键目标是确定制造合作伙伴，以优化提取系统，以浓缩生物油。目前，该过程的这一部分是资本成本的关键驱动因素。尽管目前的平台在经济上具有竞争力，但资本密集度较低的开采系统将带来更大的盈利能力。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the commercialization of high value bio-oil from low value feedstocks, especially dairy process and other agricultural waste streams. The enabling fermentation bioprocess, called the carboxylate platform, produces a bio-oil consisting primarily of caproate (C6) and caprylate (C8), which are medium chain carboxylates (MCCs). Using ethanol containing feedstocks, the carboxylate platform delivers a sustainable MCC product with five times the market value of the feedstock. Use of a dairy process waste stream holds the promise of converting a feedstock acquisition cost to a substantial revenue through waste remediation. In addition, MCCs are currently extracted from palm oil, an industry which is raising significant ecological concerns due to large scale deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. In their raw form, MCCs currently have direct use as an animal feed supplement, but once refined, can also be used in the manufacture of detergents, care products, plastics, coatings, and pharmaceuticals, among many other applications.This I-Corps project will explore the commercialization of a fermentation bioprocess which produces a bio-oil consisting primarily of caproate (C6) and caprylate (C8). This bioprocess, called the carboxylate platform, has demonstrated long-term stable production of bio-oil, has proven resistant to system disturbances, and is compatible with a variety of feedstocks. Using an ethanol-containing feedstock obtained from the bio-ethanol industry, rates has been achieved that are competitive with those of methane production from anaerobic digestion. The carboxylate platform adapts knowledge from anaerobic digestion, a widely used and scalable bioprocess using an open culture to generate methane gas from organic waste. The bio-oil produced by the carboxylate platform has a 30 times higher value per carbon than methane, making this platform an attractive alternative to anaerobic digestion for organic waste remediation. Especially promising is the possibility of converting dairy process waste to this valuable bio-oil. A key goal of this project is to identify manufacturing partners to optimize the extraction system to concentrate the bio-oil. Currently, this portion of the process is a critical driver of the capital cost. While the current platform is economically competitive, a less capital-intensive extraction system will lead to far greater profitability.