The extraction of dilute concentrations of alcohol from water is one that is widespread through industry and environmental clean-up. It is presently separated by distillation processes, where possible, a technique which is energy intensive and has impacts on product cost and the environment through the use of fossil fuels to supply the energy needed. This problem has a enormous impact on the cost and processing of alcohols, such as butanol and ethanol, from fermentation process streams where it contributes up to one-quarter of the cost of processing these biofuels. Applied Colloids proposes the use of its proprietary technology to form a high capacity extraction solvent from jojoba oil, a vegetable oil grown from the jojoba oil on desert lands in the American Southwest. This technology forms an extraction solvent capable of absorbing 33 wt% of alcohol from water solutions. This allows a single liquid-liquid extraction for alcohol in aqueous solutions versus the multi-distallation and purification steps that must be performed with current technology. This technology can be easily combined with the current technology to form an extractive fermentation process which would be less expensive and more efficient than the present technology for ethanol and other biofuel production. Commercial Applications and Other
Benefits: This proposed technology would have several commercial applications in industrial separations, environmental clean-up, and biofuel production. This public benefits from the development of this technology would be in removing. American dependence on foreign oil and in protecting the environment through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
