Use of Oxyhydrogen Microorganisms for Non-Photosynthetic Carbon Capture and Conversion of Inorganic and/or C1 Carbon Sources into Useful Organic Compounds

Abstract

Compositions and methods for a hybrid biological and chemical process that captures and converts carbon dioxide and/or other forms of inorganic carbon and/or CI carbon sources including but not limited to carbon monoxide, methane, methanol, formate, or formic acid, and/or mixtures containing CI chemicals including but not limited to various syngas compositions, into organic chemicals including biofuels or other valuable biomass, chemical, industrial, or pharmaceutical products are provided. The present invention, in certain embodiments, fixes inorganic carbon or CI carbon sources into longer carbon chain organic chemicals by utilizing microorganisms capable of performing the oxyhydrogen reaction and the autotrophic fixation of CO 2 in one or more steps of the process.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 .- 40 . (canceled) 
     
     
         41 . A biological and chemical method for the capture and conversion of an inorganic carbon compound and/or an organic compound containing only one carbon atom into an organic chemical product having a C 5  or longer chain length, comprising:
 introducing an inorganic carbon compound and/or an organic compound containing only one carbon atom into an environment suitable for maintaining oxyhydrogen microorganisms and/or capable of maintaining extracts of oxyhydrogen microorganisms, wherein said environment comprises oxyhydrogen microorganisms selected from  Hydrogenobacter, Rhodopseudomonas, Xanthobacter,  and/or  Hydrogenovibrio  microorganisms in a culture medium; and   converting the inorganic carbon compound and/or the organic compound containing only one carbon atom into the organic chemical product having a C 5  or longer chain length and/or a precursor thereof within the environment via at least one chemosynthetic carbon-fixing reaction utilizing the oxyhydrogen microorganisms and/or cell extracts containing enzymes from the oxyhydrogen microorganisms;   wherein the chemosynthetic fixing reaction is at least partially driven by chemical and/or electrochemical energy provided by electron donors and electron acceptors that have been generated chemically and/or electrochemically,   wherein said electron donors comprise H 2  that is fed to the environment as a feed gas comprising H 2  by bubbling it through the culture medium and/or by diffusing it through a membrane that contacts the culture medium and is impermeable to the culture medium,   wherein said electron acceptors comprise O 2  that is pumped into the culture medium using sparging equipment, diffusers, bubble aerators, and/or venturi equipment, and   wherein said organic chemical product comprises a lipid, amino acid, peptide, and/or protein.   
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein said organic compound product comprising the microorganisms is processed into a product comprising an animal feed, a soil additive, a soil stabilizer, a carbon source for large scale fermentations, and/or a nutrient source for the growth of other microbes or organisms. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the inorganic carbon compound comprises carbon dioxide 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 43 , wherein the carbon dioxide comprises carbon dioxide gas, either alone and/or dissolved in a mixture or solution further comprising carbonate ion and/or bicarbonate ion. 
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the carbon-fixing reaction is maintained using a continuous influx and removal of nutrient medium and/or biomass, and wherein the concentrations of the electron donors and the electron acceptors are targeted at constant levels over time in a steady state maintained for maximum uptake and fixation of the inorganic carbon compound and/or uptake and fixation of the organic compound containing only one carbon atom and/or maximum production of organic compounds, wherein surplus growth of cell mass is removed from the system in order to target a constant microbial population and cell density in the microbial culture. 
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein explosive mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen are avoided within the environment. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein the environment is contained within a bioreactor that comprises a gas headspace, wherein dangerous amounts of hydrogen and oxygen gases are prevented from mixing with each other in said gas headspace, and wherein hydrogen concentrations in the headspace in the range of 4% to 74.5% are avoided. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the organic compound containing only one carbon atom comprises carbon monoxide, methane, methanol, formate, and/or formic acid. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein said electron donors and/or organic compound containing only one carbon atom are generated through the gasification and/or pyrolysis of organic matter, or are generated through methane steam reforming, and provided as a syngas to the oxyhydrogen microorganisms. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 49 , wherein the ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide in the syngas is adjusted via the water gas shift reaction prior to the syngas being delivered to the oxyhydrogen microorganisms. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein said H 2  is generated or recycled using renewable, alternative, or conventional sources of power that are low in greenhouse gas emissions, 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, and tidal power. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the generation of said H 2  comprises one or more of the following: electrolysis of water by approaches including one or more of Proton Exchange Membranes (PEM), liquid electrolytes such as KOH, high-pressure electrolysis, high temperature electrolysis of steam (HTES); thermochemical splitting of water through one or more of the iron oxide cycle, cerium(IV) oxide-cerium(III) oxide cycle, zinc zinc-oxide cycle, sulfur-iodine cycle, copper-chlorine cycle, calcium-bromine-iron cycle, hybrid sulfur cycle; electrolysis of hydrogen sulfide; thermochemical splitting of hydrogen sulfide; other electrochemical or thermochemical processes known to produce hydrogen with low- or no-carbon dioxide emissions; the Kværner-process and other processes generating a carbon-black product; carbon capture and sequestration enabled gasification or pyrolysis of biomass. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein said environment comprises a bioreactor that does not comprise transparent materials that expose the oxyhydrogen microorganisms to light. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein a feed gas comprising 2% to 12% O 2  is introduced into the environment. 
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein said H 2  that is not utilised by the microorganisms in the chemosynthetic fixing reaction passes through the culture medium into a gas headspace and is recirculated by pumping the gas out of the headspace, compressing it, and pumping it back into the culture medium, 
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein the H 2  is pumped back into the culture medium at the bottom of a liquid column. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the converting step is preceded by one or more chemical processing steps in which said electron donors and/or said electron acceptors are generated and/or refined from at least one input chemical and/or recycled from chemicals produced during the fixing step and/or chemicals derived from waste streams from other industrial, mining, agricultural, sewage or waste generating processes. 
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the converting step is followed by one or more process steps in which any unused nutrients and/or process water left after removal of oxyhydrogen cell mass and/or chemical co-products of chemosynthesis and/or waste products or contaminants of the process stream produced during the fixing step are recycled back into the environment to support further chemosynthesis. 
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the carbon fixing reaction is conducted under aerobic, microaerobic, or facultative conditions. 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the carbon fixing reaction is conducted under aerobic, microaerobic, or facultative conditions.