Patents
US 8669082 B1: Single vessel production of butanol from biomass using engineered thermophilic microorganisms
- Granted
- 2014-03-11
- Filed
- 2012-08-22 application 13592103
- Type
- Utility · 13 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
The present invention relates to the production of biofuels by utilizing efficient biomass digestion and fermentation by a new thermophilic microorganism generated after fusion of two different bacteria Clostridium thermocellum and C. acetobutylicum and properly mutating the fused bacteria to produce biofuels and other economically important chemicals in a single vessel from lignocellulosic derived renewable biomass. All the necessary biochemical digestions and fermentation are carried out by this single thermophilic microorganism in one single vessel eliminating the need for multiple step digestion and fermentation processes, requiring multiple chambers. It also significantly reduces the rate limiting steps where increasing accumulation of alcohol, butanol and other substances become toxic to the very bacteria that produce these biofuels. The single vessel is incubated at high temperatures (45° C. or above) to eliminate the need for periodic stoppage and restarting of the process.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg140311.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claflin University 2 patents | US company or organization | Orangeburg, SC | Claflin University College or university EXACT high confidence: identical full name and state CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY Nonprofit EXACT high confidence: identical full name and state | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omar Bagasra | Orangeburg, SC | 2 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Kamal Chowdhury | West Columbia, SC | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Verlie A. Tisdal | Orangeburg, SC | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| George E. Miller | Columbia, SC | 2 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Rebecca Bullard-Dillard | Orangeburg, SC | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| C12N | Microorganisms or enzymes; compositions thereof; propagating, preserving, or maintaining microorganisms; mutation or genetic engineering; culture media | C12N1/205 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| C12P | Fermentation or enzyme-using processes to synthesise a desired chemical compound or composition or to separate optical isomers from a racemic mixture | C12P7/16 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| C12R | Indexing scheme associated with subclasses c12c - c12q, relating to microorganisms | C12R2001/145 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| Y02E | Reduction of greenhouse gas [ghg] emissions, related to energy generation, transmission or distribution | Y02E50/10 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-09-13 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | BAGASRA, OMAR signed 2012-04-19 BULLARD-DILLARD, REBECCA signed 2012-04-20 CHOWDHURY, KAMAL signed 2012-04-20 MILLER, GEORGE E. signed 2012-04-20 TISDALE, VERLIE A. signed 2012-04-20 | CLAFLIN UNIVERSITY ORANGEBURG, SC | 28952/202 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.