FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970 [39 OF 1970]
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION [SEE SECTION 10 & RULE 13]
1 TITLE
Process For Complete Liquifaction Of Lignocellulosic Material for producing bio fuel grade ethanol
2 APPLICANT
NAME LIGNOIL TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE
LIMITED
ADDRESS AASHIT APARTMENTS, FLAT NO 55/56, H.BGAWDE
MARG, SANTACRUZ [W], MUMBAI400049 INDIA
NATIONALITY INDIAN
The following specification particularly describes the nature of the invention:

Field of invention
The present invention relates generally to a Process for Complete Liquifaction of Lignocellulosic Material which can be from a variety of sources including 'bagasse', the waste product of the sugar industry and biomass from specially grown grasses for production of bio fuel grade ethanol.
Background of the Invention
Lignocellulosic material consists of three major components, a cellulosic fraction [cfj which constitutes about 50%, a hemicellulose fraction[hf] which constitutes about 30% of the total mass and a lignin fraction [If] which makes up the rest, about 20%.
The present invention comprises a novel process that separates the fractions cf, hf and If and allows each to be collected in substantially 100% yield. The process involves a digestion step in an alcohol solvent containing about 1% by weight of a strong acid. This dissolves the lignin and hemicellulosic fractions and leave behind most of the cellulose in solid form which can then be liquefied in turn using concentrated acid or enzymes. The liquefied hemicellulose and cellulose fractions can be fermented to produce ethanol which can be used as a 'green' fuel. The lignin can also used as a solid fuel in a boiler to run a turbine that can generate electricity.
This novel continuous process for complete liquefaction of lignocellulosic material is shown in the schematic diagram Fig 1.
In the present invention Lignocellulosic material from a storage silo, 1, is carried up by a bucket conveyor, 2, and dropped into a hopper, 3, from which it is transferred by a plug-screw feeder, 4, to a pressure vessel, 5, whose central portion is maintained at a temperature of about 100-120 degrees Celcius. As this material moves down the vertical cylindrical vessel it is partially dissolved in the solvent and about 50%of it reaches the bottom where it is removed from the vessel by mean s of another plug-screw extruder, 6. The vapor pressure of the alcohol solvent, which can be methanol, ethanol or any of the lower aliphatic alcohols is about 5-10 Kg cm2 at the temperature of the central zone. The alcohol solvent with the lignin and hemicellulose fractions of the lignocellulosic material dissolved in it is withdrawn from the top of the digestion vessel and passes through a

heat-exchanger, 7, where it heats a solvent stream from a storage tank, 8, which is then introduced under pressure at the bottom of the vessel, 9. The acid catalyst is withdrawn from a storage tank, 10/11, and injected into the digestor vessel, 12. The undissolved soil residue which consists mainly of the cellulose fraction is treated in a series of steps, 13-17, during which the absorbed solvent is recovered, the entrained catalyst is removed and the ash content is lowered. The liquefied bio-mass stream goes from the first heat- exchanger, 7, to a second one, 18, where it is cooled further to ambient temperature and fed into an acid stripper column, 19, where the acid is neutralized by reaction with a substance like calcium carbonate. The solution is then filtered, 21, and sent to a distillation unit, 27/28/29, where most of the alcohol solvent is recovered and recycled. The dissolved solids are collected by removing the last traces of solvent in a spray dryer, 31, and transferred to a washing tank, 32, where water is used to separate the hemicellulose derived sugars from the lignin components. The solid cellulose fraction is then liquefied by means of enzymes and converted to an aqueous solution of glucose. Finally the hemicellulosic sugars solution and the glucose solution are fermented using microorganisms which produce ethanol. The ethanol is collected by distillation and dried using molecular sieves to yield bio-fuel grade ethanol.
The invention described here leads to complete liquefaction of lignocellulosic material, which can be from a variety of sources including 'bagasse', the waste product of the sugar industry and biomass from specially grown grasses. The liquefied biomass can be further processed using enzymes and microorganisms to yield ethanol which can be used as a transportation fuel and solid boiler fuel which can be used to produce electricity.