ANL researchers develop novel xerogel-based process to recover bioproducts
Type of post: NEWS.
Researchers from the ANL (Argonne National Laboratory, a
multidisciplinary science and engineering research center located at Lemont, Illinois)
have developed an innovative separation process based on a type of adsorbent
solids, known as xerogels. A recent post of the BIOPROSE Blog (“ANL
Researchers Pioneer Innovative Approach to Recover Bioproducts”, Meltem
Urgun-Demirtas, 25/7/2019) introduces this new approach which could become an alternative
for current bioproduct separation processes (centrifugation, extraction, distillation…).
Below, I summarize some of the highlights of the post.
Figure 1. Nanostructured adsorbents (Photo:
Phil Laible, ANL)
Xerogels definition: Solid-formed gels, which
are being prepared through drying slowly at the room temperature with an
unconstrained shrinkage (Czarnobaj, 2008).
In ANL’s approach, the xerogel is formed
through polymerization of silicon-based materials around a nanostructured
template. It looks and feels like a dense sponge. It can be folded and
compressed but bounces back, retaining its shape and structure.
ANL’s xerogel adsorbent, directly incorporated
into the fermentation process:
- improves the yield as bioproduct
concentrations never accumulate to appreciable levels;
- continuously removes the bioproduct, reducing
the volume of bioreactor that is needed and allowing for the fermentation step
to run continuously (adsorbing up to eight times their mass);
- recovers bioproduct in high purity (nearly
100% selectivity);
- eliminates the need for additional raw
materials (detergents, solvents, acids, bases) required for de-emulsification
in traditional approaches.
Xerogels can be synthesized using different mixtures of starting materials and tailor their properties to allow recovery of many types of desired bioproducts. They can be reused for tens of cycles in bioreactors. A simple mechanical compression of the adsorbents leads to the release of high-purity bioproducts.
