Biological and Chemical Process Utilizing Chemoautotrophic Microorganisms for the Chemosynthetic Fixation of Carbon Dioxide and/or Other Inorganic Carbon Sources into Organic Compounds and the Generation of Additional Useful Products

Abstract

The invention described herein presents compositions and methods for a multistep biological and chemical process for the capture and conversion of carbon dioxide and/or other forms of inorganic carbon into organic chemicals including biofuels or other useful industrial, chemical, pharmaceutical, or biomass products. One or more process steps utilizes chemoautotrophic microorganisms to fix inorganic carbon into organic compounds through chemosynthesis. An additional feature described are process steps whereby electron donors used for the chemosynthetic fixation of carbon are generated by chemical or electrochemical means, or are produced from inorganic or waste sources. An additional feature described are process steps for recovery of useful chemicals produced by the carbon dioxide capture and conversion process, both from chemosynthetic reaction steps, as well as from non-biological reaction steps.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 .- 26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . A biological and chemical method for the capture and conversion of carbon dioxide into organic compounds, comprising:
 introducing carbon dioxide gas, either alone and/or dissolved in a mixture or solution further comprising carbonate ion and/or bicarbonate ion into an environment suitable for maintaining chemoautotrophic organisms and/or chemoautotroph cell extracts; and   fixing the carbon dioxide and/or inorganic carbon into organic compounds within the environment via at least one chemosynthetic carbon fixing reaction utilizing chemoautotrophic microorganisms comprising a  Ralstonia  sp., an  Alcaligenes  sp., or a  Hydrogenomoas  sp.;   wherein where the chemosynthetic carbon fixing reaction is driven by chemical and/or electrochemical energy provided by electron donors and electron acceptors that have been generated chemically and/or electrochemically and/or are introduced into the environment from at least one source external to the environment, and wherein the electron donor comprises hydrogen and said electron acceptor comprises carbon dioxide and/or oxygen;   wherein the environment suitable for maintaining chemoautotrophic organisms and/or chemoautotroph cell extracts is maintained using continuous influx and removal of nutrient medium and/or biomass, in substantially steady state where the cell population and environmental parameters are targeted at a substantially constant suitable or optimal level over time; and   wherein biomass is produced by the at least one chemosynthetic reaction, and wherein the biomass is separated from the environment and is processed into a product comprising an animal feed, a fertilizer, a soil additive, a soil stabilizer, a carbon source for large scale fermentations, a nutrient source for the growth of other microbes or organisms, and/or as a source of pharmaceutical, medicinal or nutritional substances.   
     
     
         28 . A method according to  claim 27 , wherein the fixing step is followed by one or more process steps in which organic and/or inorganic chemical products of chemosynthesis are separated from a process stream produced during the fixing step and processed to form products in a form suitable for storage, shipping, and sale. 
     
     
         29 . A method according to  claim 27 , wherein said electron donors and/or said electron acceptors are generated or recycled using renewable, alternative, or conventional sources of power that are low in greenhouse gas emissions, and wherein said sources of power are selected from at least one of photovoltaics, solar thermal, wind power, hydroelectric, nuclear, geothermal, enhanced geothermal, ocean thermal, ocean wave power, tidal power, and carbon capture and sequestration enabled methane reforming or carbon capture and sequestration enabled gasification or pyrolysis of coal or biomass. 
     
     
         30 . A method according to  claim 27 , further comprising reacting carbon dioxide with minerals to form a carbonate or bicarbonate product. 
     
     
         31 . A method according to  claim 27 , wherein carbon dioxide is introduced in the introducing step, and wherein the carbon dioxide is dissolved in aqueous solution. 
     
     
         32 . A method according to  claim 27 , wherein molecular hydrogen acts as an electron donor and wherein hydrogen concentrations between 4 to 74.5% are avoided. 
     
     
         33 . A method according to  claim 27 , whereby the culture broth is continuously removed from the environment suitable for maintaining chemoautotrophic organisms and flowed through membrane filters to separate the cell mass from the broth. 
     
     
         34 . A method according to  claim 27 , wherein the biomass produced by the at least one chemosynthetic reaction is centrifuged and then dried with evaporation, and where the biomass product is collected from the dryers. 
     
     
         35 . The method according to  claim 33 , where remaining water and nutrients separated from the biomass are pumped back into the environment suitable for maintaining chemoautotrophic organisms. 
     
     
         36 . The method according to  claim 27 , wherein said hydrogen is generated through an electrolysis method selected from the group comprising proton exchange membrane electrolysis, liquid electrolyte electrolysis, high pressure electrolysis, and high temperature electrolysis of steam