Aphios granted US Patent for pretreating cellulosic biomass to manufacture biofuels and biochemicals

In Massachusetts, Aphios Corporation announced that it was granted United States Patent No. 8,540,847 entitled “Methods and Apparatus for Processing Cellulosic Biomass” for its Aosic enabling technology platform. In the Aosic process, biomass is contacted with SuperFluids such as carbon dioxide with or without small quantities of polar cosolvents such as ethanol, both sourced from the downstream fermentation process.

Pressure is released and fibers are made more accessible to enzymes as a result of expansive forces of SuperFluids (about 10 times those of steam explosion) and carbonic acid hydrolysis. Additional fiber separation is achieved by ejecting biomass through mechanical impact devices.

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