SYSTEM FOR THE PRODUCTION OF METHANE FROM CO2 - Patent application
We've thoroughly documented, and will continue to document, the potentials for using "methanogenic archaea" bacteria to produce Methane from industrial effluent Carbon Dioxide.
Herein, inventors in Wisconsin are seen to have very recently applied for a United States Patent on such technology.
Patent Application details are not as fully published, or otherwise as publicly available, as are those of issued patents, so we are not yet able to provide you with details of the inventors' affiliations, or of the identity of the intended Patent Assignee, if any.
We alert you to one fact that we find absolutely fascinating: This technology for utilizing, mitigating, Carbon Dioxide emissions was developed, and the patent applied for, to support the Agricultural Industry's promotion of "Green" ethanol fuels based on Agricultural produce.
Coal is mentioned in the Application, with explanation that this technology applies to power plant emissions as well, and some acknowledgement is made of a fact we long ago pointed out: With our current technology, it takes a lot of fossil fuel to cultivate, and then to provide the electricity needed to ferment and distill, suitable crops into "Green" ethanol.
The Carbon Dioxide generated by such enterprise is prodigious, and our take on this Patent Application is that these farm state scientists are being commendably foresighted in developing a win-win alternative for the environmental protests that should inevitably follow, when some courageous journalist finally exposes the Big Lie, that using Ethanol fuel based on agricultural produce is somehow "Carbon Neutral", or environmentally better than fossil fuel of any sort.
It most assuredly, most absolutely, is not.
In any case, with comment appended, some highly-abbreviated excerpts from the above link to:
"Patent Application Title: System for the Production of Methane from CO2
Inventor: Laurens Mets; Madison, WI
Date: Subsequent to February 13, 2008
Abstract: A method of converting CO2 gas produced during industrial processes comprising contacting methanogenic archaea with the CO2 gas under suitable conditions to produce methane.
Claims: A method of converting carbon dioxide produced during an industrial process to methane comprising:a) preparing a culture of hydrogenotrophic methanogenic archaea in a bioreactor;b) supplying an output gas from an industrial process to the bioreactor; wherein the output gas comprises CO2 and between 0.02% and 6.7% oxygen (moles/volume of output gas); andc) wherein the hydrogenotrophic methanogenic archaea converts the output gas to continuously produce methane.
Background: Energy self-sufficiency and sustainable energy systems with lower environmental impacts are critical national goals. Increased use of biomass-derived ethanol as a fuel is advantageous because it uses solar energy, rather than fossil fuel energy, as a portion of its energy input and CO2 obtained by photosynthesis from the environment as a portion of its material requirement for energy carriers. At present, ethanol production from corn requires significant energy input from fossil fuels for distillation of the final product and for drying of fermentation residues for use in animal feed. Present domestic ethanol production methods, therefore, are not energetically or economically competitive with ethanol produced abroad from sugar cane. In addition, one third of the carbon in the corn starch is released as a concentrated CO2 stream during ethanol production. The U.S. Department of Energy has identified that increasing the energy efficiency and reducing the CO2 emissions of the fuel ethanol production process is essential for increasing the role of ethanol in meeting our energy needs. Currently, fuel ethanol production relies on federal subsidies for its economic viability. Therefore, it will be important to achieve greater economic efficiency in the ethanol production process if the industry is to be viable and self-sustaining.
Summary: The present invention provides a system that converts the CO2 into methane (natural gas). The present invention utilizes CO2 produced by industrial processes. Examples of processes that that produce CO2 are biomass fermentation to produce liquid fuels and coal and biomass gasification processes. Gasification is a process that converts carbonaceous materials, such as coal, petroleum, petroleum coke or biomass (living or dead biological material), into carbon monoxide, hydrogen and carbon dioxide. In the system of the present invention, CO2 industrial waste-gas streams, such as those formed during the production of ethanol or those produced by combined cycle coal fired energy plants, is combined with hydrogen and undergoes a microbial fermentation process catalyzed by methanogenic archaea, producing methane and water. Hydrogen gas may be produced from a variety of sources. In one embodiment, inexpensive electric power can be used to produce hydrogen from water via electrolysis. The integrated electrolysis/methane fermentation system can be viewed as converting an intermittent energy source (e.g. inexpensive off-peak electricity from power plants) to a stable chemical energy store, using hydrogen as an intermediate and methane as the final energy carrier."
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So, they do confess at least some of the truth: "ethanol production from corn requires significant energy input from fossil fuels" and "one third of the carbon in the corn starch is released as a concentrated CO2 stream during ethanol production."
And, the USDOE "has identified that ... reducing the CO2 emissions of the fuel ethanol production process is essential".
So, not only is Carbon released by the "input from fossil fuels", but "the carbon in corn starch is released", as well; and, reducing those "emissions ... is essential".
They herein quietly acknowledge all of that, and they are also herein doing something about it.
The truly important points: Carbon Dioxide can be recycled into Methane. And, Methane can be converted directly into liquid fuels; or, it can be used to enhance processes of indirect Coal liquefaction to generate liquid fuels; or, it can be "tri-reformed" with even more Carbon Dioxide to synthesize liquid fuels.
All as we have documented, all as we will continue to document.
Our Coal Miners need to start being as far-sighted and as proactive as these Farm Hands seem to be.
