Method of bioconverting organic carbonaceous material into fuel

Abstract

A bioreactor for producing synfuel from carbonaceous material includes a stacked particle heap comprising biodegradable carbonaceous material, an aerobic microbial consortium fermenting the biodegradable carbonaceous material into synfuel, and a gas impermeable barrier operatively covering the stacked particle heap. The covered particle heap is purged with at least one non-oxygenated gas. The bioreactor also includes a supply of anaerobic microorganisms which biodegrade the carbonaceous material within the stacked particle heap into synfuel. The synfuel is mixed with at least one reactor byproduct. The reactor byproducts are separated from the synfuel, which may include synthetic petroleum, alcohol, oil, and/or a gaseous fuel containing methane.

1 . A method of converting organic carbonaceous material into fuel using a stacked particle bioreactor, the method comprising the steps of:
 a. providing particles of solid carbonaceous organic material having a particle size of less than about 5.0 cm;   b. screening the particles into two or more size fractions;   c. forming a plurality of stacked particle bioreactors having a void volume greater than or equal to about 15%, each bioreactor being formed with particles from one of the separated size fractions;   d. forming an anaerobic environment within each of the stacked particle bioreactors;   e. anaerobically biotreating each of the stacked particle bioreactors until a desired amount of organic carbonaceous material within the stacked particle bioreactor has been converted to a gaseous fuel; and   f. collecting gaseous fuel from each of the stacked particle bioreactors.   
   
   
       2 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising collecting synthetic petroleum from the stacked particle bioreactor. 
   
   
       3 . A method according to  claim 1  or  2 , wherein the particles comprise a solid organic carbonaceous material selected from the group consisting of oil sands, carbonaceous rock, asphalt, rubber, and agricultural waste. 
   
   
       4 . A method according to  claim 3 , wherein the particles comprise agricultural waste and the agricultural waste comprises at least one plant waste selected from the group consisting of bark, corn cobs, nut shells, wood by-products, and crop by-products. 
   
   
       5 . A method according to  claim 3 , wherein the particles comprise carbonaceous rock and the carbonaceous rock comprises coal or oil shale. 
   
   
       6 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the step of covering each of the stacked particle bioreactors with a gas impermeable barrier. 
   
   
       7 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the step of forming an anaerobic environment includes purging the stacked particle bioreactor with nitrogen, carbon dioxide, ammonia or hydrogen gas. 
   
   
       8 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising inoculating each stacked particle bioreactors with a culture comprising one or more aerobic and/or facultative anaerobic microorganisms and aerobically fermenting organic carbonaceous material in each bioreactor prior to forming an anaerobic environment within the bioreactor. 
   
   
       9 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising adding at least one material selected from the group consisting of asphaltic oil, waste oil, bitumen, tar, pitch, and kerogen to at least one of the stacked particle bioreactors.