Based on a review of the patent publications from the first half of 2014, it is clear that there continues to be substantial ongoing biofuels and biofuels-related research, especially in the fields of starter materials, process efficiency, and process management. This article will review some of the latest published patent applications from 2014 and give some insights into potential trends for later in the year, based on current publications.
Current patent publications have been shifting in the direction of describing research around working with known biofuel materials and either a) improving the material and/or b) improving the process. There are also groups of publications focused on fuel optimization through the addition of other components and/or better engine design. At the outset, please note that this article is not advocating or determining the patentability of any of these technologies. The content of this article is directed to an objective summary of some of the biofuel-related patent art.
This article will touch on several different categories of biofuel and biofuel-related patents and publications as a review of the publications from this past year. Specifically, the following topics are discussed: increasing the efficiency of the biofuel production process, additives and end uses, and fermenters used in the production of biofuels.
Process Efficiency
This category regularly makes up the largest class of patents, patent publications, and journal articles, primarily because it is often easier to optimize the production of existing and known biofuels, as opposed to developing and testing potential new biofuels.
US Patent Publication 2014/0134693,
Eliminating the Need of Acidification in Bioethanol Production
(inventors: Julio Pimentel, et al.; assignee: Anitox Corporation; May 15, 2014) discloses processes and methods that, as the title suggests, eliminate the need for acidification during bioethanol production. As the inventors discuss, acidification is traditionally used as a way to try and reduce or eliminate bacterial buildup during the production of biofuels. The inventors propose eliminating that step by utilizing “an improved ethanol fermentation process with decreased use of acidifiers by adding a composition containing an aldehyde, a fatty acid, a terpene and a surfactant. The method comprising: a) mixing a fermentation feedstock with a fermentation broth containing yeast and/or an enzyme, b) treating said mixture by adding a composition to the fermentor containing: 10–90 wt. % of an antimicrobial aldehyde, preferably selected from the group consisting of formaldehyde, para-formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, and mixtures thereof, 1–50 wt. % of a surfactant having an HLB from 4 to 18, 0–20 wt. % of an antimicrobial terpene, or essential oils, 1–50 wt. % of organic acids selected from C1 to C24 fatty acids, their salts, glycerides and esters thereof, and 1–50 wt. % water; wherein the concentration of aldehyde in the fermentor is from about 0.25 to 3 kg/MT of fermentation feedstock, and c) isolating ethanol and improving yield.” This patent application has been assigned to an Examiner and is currently awaiting a substantive examination at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Author's note: In general, when patents and patent applications are reviewed, it is instructive to keep a few points in mind. There are two types of published patent applications—those that have issued and those that have published but are still pending and under examination. This article will primarily focus on patent publications, since those documents are indicative of more recent research and development of biofuels. In fact, the patent applications that were published in 2014 were probably filed in early 2013, since new patent applications don't publish until 18 months after they are first filed.
An issued patent has a fixed set of claims at the end of that patent that define the invention regardless of what is included in the detailed description section. Anyone reviewing issued patents for an indication of the actual invention should turn to the claims section first. The detailed description section should primarily be used to provide context of the claims and/or definitions of some of the terms/phrases in the claims. Issued patents are in force 20 years from the filing date, and they give the patent owner the right to exclude others from making, using and/or selling the claimed invention in the country where the patent issued.
Published patent applications are useful to provide notice to the general public and/or competitors as to potential future patents and their scope. Between the filing date or priority date of the application and the publication date, the patent application is not published, and therefore, not readily available to the public for review.
Inventors use pending patent publications to put likely competitors on notice that they may have enforceable patent rights at some point in the future. Competitors use patent publications to scope out the technology landscape. It is important to note, however, that the existence of a patent publication does not necessarily mean that a patent will issue from that application or that the final issued set of claims will be the same or resemble the claims in the publication. These publications should primarily be used for notice and information purposes.
The content of this article is not intended as legal or financial advice. Views expressed are those of the author and should not be construed as necessarily representative of those of Buchalter Nemer, Industrial Biotechnology journal, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers, or their affiliates. No endorsement of any entity or technology is implied.
US Patent Publication 2014/0127768,
Solar-Assisted Volatile Fermentation Products Production Processes
(inventor Dan Nilsson; assignee: Scale Biofuels, APS; May 8, 2014) discloses “a method and apparatus for recapturing heat from a solar-assisted volatile fermentation product production process comprising harvesting a volatile fermentation product from a solar-assisted fermentation product production apparatus and utilizing a heat recovery apparatus for recapturing the heat produced during the solar-assisted fermentation product production process. The volatile fermentation product can be produced in an autotrophic organism or by a fermenting organism fermenting fermentable sugars from one or more sugar crops, starch-containing and lignocellulose-containing materials.” The application states: “Recovering and reusing rejected heat from commercial processes is generally known as waste heat recovery. The potential of waste heat recovery is dependent upon many factors including the quality of the waste heat stream, the applications available for using the recaptured heat, and the types of heat recovery equipment available. Conventionally, high grade waste heat generally above 500°C is most suitable for waste heat recovery, but recovery from low-grade waste heat below 200°C can provide net economic advantages. Thus, methods that employ solar energy input and waste heat recapture are desirable for improving overall process economics in volatile organic compound production processes.” This patent application has not yet been docketed or assigned to an Examiner.
US Patent Publication 2014/0113363,
Process of Producing Oil From Algae Using Biological Rupturing
(inventor: James R. Oyler; assignee: Genifuel Corporation; April 24, 2014) teaches “a process for production of biofuels from algae [that] can include cultivating an oil-producing algae, extracting the algal oil, and converting the algal oil to form biodiesel. Extracting the algal oil from the oil-producing algae can include biologically rupturing cell wall and oil vesicles of the oil-producing algae using at least one enzyme such as a cellulose or glycoproteinase, a structured enzyme system such as a cellulosome, a virus, or combination of these materials.” Specifically, claim 1 recites: “A system for production of biodiesel from algae, comprising: a) algae growth reservoirs including a carbon dioxide source and a mixing mechanism configured to circulate an oil-producing algae within the algae growth reservoirs; b) an oil extraction bioreactor operatively connected to the algae growth reservoirs and configured for biologically rupturing algal oil vesicles of the oil-producing algae to form an algal oil and algal residue; c) a biological agent source operatively connected to the oil extraction bioreactor including a biological agent selected from a cellulase, a glycoproteinase, a cellulosome, a virus, or a combination thereof; and d) a conversion reactor operatively connected to the oil extraction bioreactor to convert at least a portion of the algal oil to a fuel.” This patent application is a divisional application of a parent patent application that was filed in December 2007.
US Patent Publication 2014/0113331,
Systems and Methods for Cultivating, Harvesting and Processing Biomass
(inventor: Dennis Dwayne Yancey, Jr.; assignee: Coastal Waters Biotechnology Group, LLC; April 24, 2014) discloses “…combining controlled open-ocean iron enrichment with a system for collecting the ensuing biological growth can lead to a fundamental shift towards using marine biomass feedstock for large-scale global biodiesel production. The literature review reveals that open-ocean enrichment effectively reduces both the atmospheric carbon dioxide partial pressure and ocean acidity. A semi-closed ocean system is provided that allows for the efficient cultivation and harvesting of a high tonnage biomass feedstock generated by iron fertilization. The concept methodically capitalizes on the ocean's free nutrients, kinetic/potential energy, and expansive surface area to ensure that the mass, energy, and cost balance equations favor our system while taking care to preserve the ocean's ecosystem. The system is a modular, portable, easily scalable system, and minimizes waste. In addition to the above benefits, our concept allows continued adherence to the NEPA and London Protocol by culling the biomass produced by fixing carbon dioxide and limiting iron exposure to the vessel's interior.” This patent application is related to US Patent 8628948 that was filed in 2012 and PCT/US10/37037 that was filed in 2010.
Starting Materials
US Patent Publication 2014/0141516,
Methods and Compositions for Genetically Engineering Clostridia Species
(inventors: Bryan P. Tracy, et al.; assignee: Northwestern University; May 22, 2014) discloses methods and compositions for genetically engineering Clostridia species, including the expression of recombinant resolvase proteins in Clostridia species. Current claim 1 recites: “A method for incorporating genetic material into a bacterial genome, wherein said bacterial genome lacks a functional resolvase gene, comprising: contacting a bacterial cell comprising a bacterial genome with at least one plasmid comprising a gene encoding a resolvase protein and a nucleic acid of interest under conditions such that said nucleic acid of interest integrates into said bacterial genome.” The inventors state in the Background that: “The engineering of microbes for specialty chemical conversion, biofuel generation, bioremediation and pharmaceutical production remains an immediate scientific and industrial goal. Specifically for the class Clostridia among prokaryotes, the pursuit of industrial scale biofuel generation and Clostridia-based cancer therapies is motivating a tremendous amount of strain development. Clostridia are naturally some of the most prolific microorganisms for fermenting cellulosic material into valuable biofuel alcohols such as butanol and ethanol. Additionally, due to their anaerobic and spore forming characteristics, Clostridia are being engineered to target the necrotic and anaerobic cores of malignant tumors to kill tumors from the inside out.” A non-final office action requesting a restriction of the claims has been issued by the Examiner in this case.
US Patent Publication 2014/0134668
Antimicrobial and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Switchgrass-Derived Extractives
(inventors: Nicole Labbe, et al.; assignee: University of Tennessee Research Foundation; May 15, 2014) discusses the rather sparse knowledge regarding the fungal pathogens of switchgrass, an important starting material for biofuels. According to the inventors, “the specific objectives of this study were: 1) to identify fungal pathogens that occur naturally on seedlings and mature switchgrass plants grown in Tennessee; 2) to identify seedborne pathogens of switchgrass; 3) to determine the antimicrobial potential of switchgrass extractives.” The claims are fairly straightforward, in that claim 1 recites “a composition comprising a solvent soluble extract of switchgrass” and claim 2 recites: “a method processing Panicum virgatum L. (switchgrass) biomass, the method comprising: a) obtaining a switchgrass biomass, b) treating the switchgrass biomass with a solvent and separating the solvent-soluble extractives portion of the switchgrass biomass from the cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic portion of the switchgrass biomass, and c) optionally, producing a biofuel from the cellulosic and/or lignocellulosic portion of the switchgrass biomass.” Paragraphs [0102] to the end of the publication discuss one of the more interesting aspects of the disclosure, which is the isolation and purification of switchgrass extracts to remove inhibitory compounds that in the end help to “positively impact” the yield of biofuel produced from the cellulosic fractions. This patent application has been assigned to an Examiner and is currently awaiting a substantive examination at the USPTO.
US Patent Publication 2014/0127388,
Production of High Quality Durum Wheat Having Increased Amylose Content
(inventor: Michael J. Giroux; assignee: Montana State University; May 8, 2014) discloses “compositions and methods of altering/improving Durum wheat phenotypes. Furthermore, methods of breeding Durum wheat and/or other closely related species to produce plants having altered or improved phenotypes are provided.” Claim 1 of the patent publication recites: “Grain produced from a durum wheat plant comprising one or more mutations of a starch granule protein-1 (SGP-1) allele of a wild type durum wheat plant, wherein the proportion of dietary fiber, resistant starch and/or protein content in the grain is increased when compared to the grain of the wild type durum wheat plant.” While a majority of the patent publication focuses on food production, the inventors discuss the improvement in starch and how that could influence biofuels production (see paragraph [0173]).
US Patent Publication 2014/0120623,
Method for Enhancing Cell Growth of Microalgae
(inventors: Jia-Baau Wang, et al.; assignee: Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Executive Yuan Taoyuan County, May 1, 2014) teaches “a method for enhancing cell growth of microalgae enhances transgenic expression of a bicarbonate transporter (HCO3 - transporter) in microalgae and thereby obtains a genetically modified microalgae capable of enhanced inorganic carbon fixation, efficient photosynthesis, and expeditious cell growth. The genetically modified microalgae are fit for use in biofuel production.” This application claims priority to a patent application filed in Taiwan in 2012.
As stated earlier, it is clear that most of the patent filings are directed to new starter materials, better starter materials, genetically modified starter materials, and process efficiency, as well as streamlined systems for biofuel production and/or boosting biofuels production. These two areas appear to be the biggest group of published applications in 2014 to date, along with patent applications related to enzymes that are better designed or utilized to break down starter materials. While there are a few patent applications every quarter directed to fuel cells, engine systems and additives, the bulk of the applications are in the three areas mentioned here, and there is every expectation that the rest of 2014 will see the same types of patent applications published. A detailed patent review in a subsequent issue of the journal will focus on the international published applications from 2014 and look at worldwide trends for biofuels applications for 2015.
