WO2008030854A2

WO2008030854A2 - Systems and methods for maximizing efficiency and energy recovery from resource processing

Info

Publication number: WO2008030854A2
Application number: PCT/US2007/077608
Authority: WO
Inventors: David J. Winsness; Kevin E. Kreisler
Original assignee: Gs Industrial Design, Inc.
Priority date: 2006-09-05
Filing date: 2007-09-05
Publication date: 2008-03-13
Also published as: WO2008030854A3

Abstract

The present application describes system and methods for maximizing efficiency and energy recovery from resource processing.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS TOR MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY RECOVERY FROM RESOURCE PROCESSING

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent App. Ser. No. 60/842,398, filed September 5, 2006, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

This invention relates generally to energy pro auction and, more particularly, systems and methods for maximizing the amount of energy that can be recovered from a resource, such as biomass (corn, algae, etc.), coal, or even waste products as well as maximizing the efficiency of energy recovery.

Background of the Invention

Over the past thirty years, significant attention has been given to the production of alternative fuels, such as ethyl alcohol, or "ethanol." Ethanol not only bums cleaner than fossil fuels, but also can be produced using corn, a renewable resource. At present, ethanol plants in the United States produce over three billion gallons of ethanol per year. Additional plants presently under construction are expected to add billions of gallons to this total in an effort to meet the current high demand.

A popular method of producing ethanol from corn is known as "dry milling." As is well known in the industry, the dry milling process utilizes the starch in the com to produce the ethanol through fermentation, and creates a waste stream or byproduct termed "whole stillage" (which may be further separated into byproducts commonly referred to aε "distillers wet grains" and "thin stillage¹').

Despite containing valuable oil, the byproducts of drymillinghave for the most part been treated as waste and used primarily to supplement animal feed. This feed is mostly distributed in the form of distillers dried grains with solubles, which is created by evaporating the thin stillage, recombining the resulting concentrate or syrup with the distillers wet grains, and drying the product to a moisture content of less than about 10% by weight.

Significant attention has also recently been given to the use of oil, including vegetable oils such as from corn, as an alternative fuel, This fuel oil, frequently termed "biodiesel," is a cleaner fuel than petroleurn-based diesel (less emissions), environmentally safe (spills biodegrade quickly), and can be mixed at any concentration to diesel without engine modification. The current value of corn oil as biodiesel is approximately S2.40 per gallon, or $648/ton, which is essentially double the value of the commercial feed that would normally include this oil. Although the market for the biodiesel is growing rapidly and the potential profit is significant, key limiting factors are the cost of obtaining the oil using current techniques, the resulting quality, and increasing corn prices (which, along with decreasing distillers dried grains prices, is also troublesome for ethanol production).

Besides the need for renewable fuels, significant attention has been given to the deleterious release Of CO₃ into the atmosphere from various sources, including internal combustion engines and power plants, which is believed to contribute to global warming. However, even the production of renewable fuels, such as ethanol, result in CO₂ as a byproduct, as does the liquefaction of coal or other biomass to produce liquid fuel. Hence, while both approaches help to reduce dependence on oil (which dependence is problematic for other geopolitical reasons), a trade off is being made in terms of the potential harm to the environment.

Accordingly, a need exists for a more efficient and economical manner of maximizing energy recovery from resources and, in particular, those that are renewable. In particular, an emergent need in the biofuels production industry exists for new technologies and processes that enable biofuels production with increased net energy values and increased operating and capital cost-efficiencies.

Summary of the Invention

This invention detailed herein includes a series ofprocessesthat, when selectively or collectively applied synergistically in an integrated facility enable greatly increased net energy values and increased operating and capital cost-efficiencies, as compared to standard bioruel production processes. As referred to herein, such a facility is described as an Integrated Multi-Feedstock, Multi-Fuels Facility, or MFF. The IMFF is based on the synergistic application of the following processes: (a) raw material capture, extraction, conversion and/or beneficiation {e.g., corn oil extraction and pre-treatment; DDG defatting and peptization; photosynthetic CO2 capture and conversion to algae biomass and oxygen; or biomass drying and/or desiccation and/or homogenization and peptization); (b) biofuels production (e.g., pre- treated corn oil to biodiesel (with post-treatment) and/or prepared biomass gasification to liquid (GTL) fuels); (c) energy production (e.g., prepared biomass gasification to synthesis gas to specialty combustion); and (d) co-generation and recycling (e.g., oxygen from on-site photosynthetic bioreactor to gasification and GTL process; steam from biomass GTL process to biomass drying; radiant heat from specialty combustion to biomass drying; recycling of biodiesel process wastes (glycerin and methanol) to additional biofuels production; recycling of exhaust CO2 to additional algae biomass and oxygen production.

The above examples can be applied in numerous different embodiments on a stand-alone EVlFF basis or, preferably, in conjunction with existing processes, such as a dry mill ethanol production facility, or a municipal sewage treatment facility, or a municipal solid waste processing facility, or a coal gasification facility, or a coal fired power plant.

An additional important aspect of the LMFF is its ability to facilitate greatly increased risk management (relative to the acquisition and sale of commodities, ongoing operations and financing) in the following ways: (a) broad biomass feedstock tolerances and multi-fuel production capabilities enable operators to pro actively manage fluctuating market conditions, (b) external utility consumption requirements are greatly reduced and possibly eliminated, (c) integrated energy production from biomass creates opportunities for sales of renewable energy credits and the execution of long-term power production agreements, both of which can be used to reduce costs of capital and increase returns on investment both for operators and financing sources. A properly designed IMFF can facilitate greatly reduced raw materi al acquisition costs, decreased biofuels production costs, decreased energy and other raw material needs, decreased emissions and waste, and greatly increased output, In addition, a properly designed IMFF can create substantial additional opportunities for neighboring facilities to enhance their own revenues while decreasing costs, emissions and waste.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figures 1-19 illustrate various aspects of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention With reference now to the schematic diagram of Figure 1, the inventive system and method can be characterized in one embodiment as involving an IMFF in which ethaπol is produced from the wet or dry milling of com. In this figure, a dry milling process is illustrated, with the corn first undergoing milling and mashing in a first process vessel Vl, and then proceeding to one or more storage vessels V2 for fermentation (during which a substantial amount of CO₂ is released, as noted). Distillation and dehydration follow using suitable equipment, identified by reference character L, as well as filtering

(such as through a molecular sieve M) to recover the ethanol produced, which of course can serve as fuel.

The byproduct of this process, which is generally known as stillage, is then typically divided into fractions and ultimately sold as feed. The division maybe accomplished using mechanical processing equipment, such as a decanter or a centrifuge T to recover a certain amount of the solids (known as distillers wet grains), with the liquid byproduct then being evaporated, such as by using an evaporator E (see Figures 1 a-lc). Conventionally, the evaporated liquid byproduct, or syrup, is then remixed with the distillers wet grains and dried., such as in a dryer D, to form distillers dried grains with solubles, or DDGS (not shown), and sold as feed for animals. However, it has been discovered that the concentrated syrup associated with the evaporator E includes a considerable amount of valuable oil. This oil may be recovered using mechanical extraction techniques (such as a disk stack centrifuge K), pressing, or solvent extraction. Of course, the oil recovered can be used as a food for animals, as a fuel, or converted into biodiesel, such as at a corresponding purifϊcati on facility F. In this case, the result is the production of saleable biodiesel, which as indicated may be sold in the open market for consumer use or used in different ways, such as a fuel for the production of power,

As noted above, a byproduct of this process is distillers dried grains. The distillers dried grains or DDG created as a result of the processing may be converted into synthetic gas, or "syngas," This is done using a gasifier G, which may receive air for partial combustion and the production of synthetic gas ("syngas"). Steam can also be supplied to the gasifier G to enhance the hydrogen concentrations in the syngas produced, thereby enhancing its value. The syngas can be used for the production of heat or steam, power generation or, as discussed in more detail below, converted into liquid fuel.

A preliminary step before gasification may involve drying the DDG to a particular moisture level, if not already done. This can be accomplished using a steam dryer, gas dryer, spray dryer, pneumatic conveying dryer, or the like (not shown in Figure 1 ). Alternatively, and as also described in further detail below, the Carver-Greenfield process can be used, possibly with oil added from the extraction step noted, to dry the DDG.

An optional step pre-gasifi cation is to pelletize the DDG at the desired moisture level, which may involve the use of a binder. A suitable binder for this purpose is glycerin, which maybe a byproduct of the process used to produce biodiesel from corn oi i . Since the DDG is not being used as feed, but instead as fuel, the range of binders available for use for pelletizing advantageously increases.

It may also be necessary or desirable to defat the DDG prior to being pellitized or otherwise used as fuel. This maybe accomplished by washing the solids after separation. Such washing also potentially enhances the overall amount of oil recovery and, thus, the value of the processing.

As indicated in the schematic diagram of Figure I₅ fermentation of the corn during the process used to produce ethanol by way of dry milling produces a gaseous byproduct comprised primarily of CO2, which is deleterious for reasons previously stated. However, it is possible to use this gaseous product in the production of biomass, such as in the manner described in U.S. Patent No. 6,667,171 to Bayless et al. One of the byproducts of the production of biomass, such as algae, using carbon dioxide via photosynthesis, is oxygen.

This oxygen may be used in the process used to produce syngas, preferably with added steam. The resultant syngas is "enhanced" as compared to that produced using air, and thus has a high energy value per mass. The source of combustion for the gasifier G may be coal or any other fuel, such as the biomass or DDG (pelletized or otherwise) mentioned above. Enhanced syngas is also more volatile and can be used to power a boiler, in combustion, or converted to liquid fuel, such as by using the Fischer- Tropsch process.

Gas-to-liquid reactions such as those developed by Fischer-Tropsch are costly due to the capital and operating costs required to produce the pure oxygen consumed in the gasifier. The result is a fuel production process having a low net energy value (nev) (which is the ratio between the energy produced to the energy consumed used to produce the fuel). Advantageously, the use of oxygen from photosynthesis, as opposed to a dedicated oxygen generator (which would still remain as an option), greatly enhances the net energy value, as demonstrated in examples provided in the following discussion. Alternatively, the use of photosynthesis may offset the high energy and capital requirements of an oxygen generator for generating the oxygen for enhanced syngas production. Photosynthesis using flue gases resulting from gasifiers or boilers that use air for the oxygen source for conversion of the carbon dioxide into oxygen does not allow for producing gases more concentrated in oxygen than that present in air. However, processing flue gasses that result from more concentrated sources of CO2, such as CO2 pro duced during oxygen induced gasification or CO2 flue gas es that escape fermentation, allow for more concentrated levels of oxygen exiting the photosynthesis process. For example, supplying pure sources of carbon dioxide to photosynthesis can theoretically produce pure sources of oxygen. While it is generally not desirable to produce pure oxygen in this manner due to the safety issues, it may be desirable to concentrate the CO2 to 02 levels to 50/50 using photosynthesis. By increasing the ratio of oxygen to 50% as opposed to 21 % that exists in air, the energy required by the oxygen generator can be reduced by as much as 73%.

In continuance of the ability to use photosynthesis to produce a concentration of carbon dioxide relative to oxygen without the presence of nitrogen, the air separation methods used can be modified to more efficiently remove oxygen from the gas stream. The densities of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide are 0.089, 0.078, and 0.123, respectively at 32 degrees F and one standard atmosphere. The technologies available to separate oxygen from nitrogen are costly primarily due to the close proximity of the respective densities whereas separating oxygen from a carbon dioxide is substantially advantageous due to the large differences in density. This embodiment of the invention utilizes air separationmethods more appropriate to a gaseous mixture of predominantly carbon dioxide and oxygen. Techniques used can be cryogenic or non-cryogenic methods such as membrane technology, pressure swing adsorption or vacuum pressure swing adsorption.

The biomass produced during photosynthesis may also advantageously be collected for conversion into energy. This can be accomplished through fermentation, esteriflcation, transesterification, combustion, pyrolyεis and/or gasification (with orwithout gas-to-liquid conversion). As noted above, some of these conversion methods require the biomass to be dry or partially dried. Most preferably, drying is accomplished using dehydration by way of a multi-effect evaporator. To maximize the potential of this low energy dehydration method, it may be desirable to add oil or an alternate liquid having a boiling point less than that of water. This liquid allows the biomass to remain in a fluid like state to allow for optimal heat transfer and evaporation within the multi- effect evaporator. A surfactant and surfactant recovery system may also be used to allow water vapours to easily escape the oil. It may also be advantageous to use a scraped surface heat exchanger to minimize fouling and optimize heat transfer coefficients. This embodiment may include production and use of high boiling point fluids produced by the gas-to-liquid conversion as a earner needed in the evaporator. In the photosynthetic process using a bioreactor of the type shown in the Bayless et al. patent, the highest energy cost is the energy required to circulate water vertically to the header atop of the growth media to allow the water to cascade down the structure providing nutrients to the growing algae or biomass. In another aspect of the invention where a concentrated supply of carbon dioxide is present, a liquid tank or silo is filled with water and growing algae. Light is distributed within the growth tank through the use of collection and distribution devices, which include but are not limited to, solar collectors, light pipes and light tubes.

To promote biomass growth, carbon dioxide is then compressed and dispersed throughout the bottom of the growth tank allowing the carbon dioxide bubbles to flow up through the growth media. As should be appreciated, the cost of compressing concentrated sources of carbon dioxide, such as that obtained from the fermentation process, may be substantially less than compressing a large gas volume of dilute carbon dioxide such that contains nitrogen exiting a flue gas. Certain instances may allow the energy required to compress carbon dioxide and bubble it through a liquid reactor tank to be less than the energy requirements needed circulate water within a non-pressurized photosynthetic reactor such as that described by Bayless ct al. As an alternative to the Bayless et al. approach, a collector may be used that concentrates sunlight, including the IR, visibl e and UV wavelengths, but separately filters out the UV and IR for other uses. Specifically, and as relevant for the UV wavelengths, the UV light is directed and concentrated onto a photoreactive surface {preferred embodiment is a titanium pipe coated with titanium dioxide), to facilitate photoelectrochemical reaction of an electrolyte (i.e., a caustic sodium solution), to produce (a) hydrogen gas and (b) oxygen gas, The hydrogen gas could either be (a) used to in a fuel cell apparatus to create electricity, (b) directly combusted in a specially designed generator, (c) injected into the syngas output of an onsite gasification and/or GTL process, or (d) bottled and sold. The oxygen gas could cither be (a) directly combusted in a specially designed generator, (b) injected into the syngas output of an onsite gasification and/or GTL process, (c) bottled and sold, or (d) exhausted to the atmosphere. Specifically, and as relevant to the IR wavelengths, the IR light is directed and concentrated onto either (a) a thermally conductive surface to facilitate heat transfer to a liquid such as water or glycol which is then used onsite to assist in a drying or other process, or (b) a photoreactive surface (preferred embodiment is a carbon substrate laced with gallium arsenide) to facilitate the thermophotovoltaic generation of electricity.

The following examples demonstrate the effectiveness of various embodiments of the above- described technology, and are not considered to limit the disclosed invention to any precise form. Example 1

Figure lareflects a current method and system for processing whole stillage (the "raw material"). A decanter 12 separates the stillage into a liquid fraction and distillers wet grains. The liquid is concentrated, such as by using an evaporator 14 to produce concentrated stillage, and then recombined with the distillers wet grains and dried, such as by using a dryer 16. Ths estimated operating co st of such a system is S 10.5 million per year, most of which arises from the significant amount of drying required, and the value of the DDG with solubles produced is estimated at $13.3 million, for anet profit of about $2.8 million. Example 2

Figure Ib illustrates the same basic set up as provided in Figure Ia, but a scraped surface heat exchanger 18 is added to allow for increased evaporation of water within the syrup emanating from the evaporator 14. Multi-effect evaporation allows for reduced energy consumption. Generally the limiting factor with multi-effect evaporation is related to fouling. As the product becomes concentrated, it also increases in viscosity and when fouling occurs, the thermal efficiency of the heat exchanger decreases. A scraped surface heat exchanger continuously cleans the heat transfer area allowing for maximum evaporation. Despite the increase in capital cost, an increase in overall profit is realized as compared to Example 1. Example 3

Turning to Figure 1 c, the arrangement is modified to include a step for recovering oil from the syrup, such as a disk stack centrifiige 20 or like device, and with washing of the whole stillage, such as by using one or more decanters 22 , The oil can then be used as or processed as necessary for conversion to biodiesel (such as using the techniques described and illustrated in Figure 2). Advantageously, the result is the production of two possible fuels, biodiesel and ethanol from corn processed at dry milling ethanol facilities, with a substantial increase in profit. This results in part from the on-site conversion, which reduces transportation costs and optimizes a work force that can manage the ethanol production process and the biodiesel process simultaneously. Example 4 This example associated with Figure 3 shows removing oil in themanner shown in order to defat the DDG for purposes of peptization (since high fat DDG is difficult to pelletize). Gasification of the pelletized DDG can be used to produce steam, which in turn can be used to offset boiler requirements. However, this only offsets the cost of natural gas that would be normally used, and thus results in an estimated decrease in profit. Accordingly, selling the pelletized DDG as feed may make more sense that gasification, since it would have a higher value than the natural gas otherwise consumed. Example 5

Turning to Figure 4, this example involves gasifying the biomass (DDG), and then converting the syngas produced into liquid fuel. As noted above in the case of DDG, this preferably involves defatting before gasification. Conversion of the syngas may be by way of Fischer-Tropsch, as more specifically shown in Figure 5. A scraped surface heat exchanger 18 may also be associated with the evaporator 14 to maximize efficiency. Although the estimated capital requirements increase remarkably, so does the profit figure due to the production of additional ethanol on the hack end. Example 6 TMs example refers to Figure 6, and illustrates the same technique as proposed in Example 5, but with the combined use of photosynthesis. Specifically, the diagram shows that, during Fischer Tropsch processing (or gasification or other processes), a substantial amount of CO2 is produced that can be converted to oxygen using photosynthesis, with the algae grown in a hioreactor 24 or like device for (a) capturing exhausted CO2, pure or otherwise; (b) converting it into algal biomass; which (c) also respires oxygen. The device used can be sized to balance to desired amount of biomass output and the desired oxygen output.

Since oxygen is the single higher expense of Fischer-Tropsch processing (as much as 90% of operating costs), the operating cost is reduced significantly, while biomass availability increases. In particular, the biomass generated during photosynthesis can be evaporated, such as using a scraped surface heat exchanger 26, and fractioned, such as by using a decanter 18. Of course, the oxygen can also be used in gasification or other processes.

Figure 7 is similar to Figure 6, with the exception mat the algae is grown in tanks. Accordingly, with high concentrations of CO2 gases (such as those produced from Fischer-Tropsch) it can be more cost effective (less energy consumption) to compress the CO2 and allow itto bubble through algae tanks. Applying distributed lighting to the tanks substantially increases productivity as well. Example 7

Turning now to Figure 8, it exemplifies that, after removing corn oil from the torn stillage (or syrup), it becomes substantially easier and more cost effective to dehydrate these solubles independently, such as by using a dryer 28. Soluble proteins can be sold a premiums to certain live stockmarkets. This embodiment allows for the dehydration and/or enzymatic conversion of this defatted material independently. Removal of oil allows for efficient enzymatic processing to produce superior livestock feeds. Example 8 Tliis example referring to Figure 9 shows the dehydration of solubles, as per Example 7, with gasification of the remaining DDG. This again shows that because the use of the DDG to produce steam results in only an offset with respect to the use of natural gas, profit actually decreases as compared to the case where the DDG might be sold as feed for $70/ton (which is even a low estimate). Example 9 Referring to Figure 10, this example shows the dehydration of the solubles (thin stallage after de- fatting) and the Fischer-Tropsch conversion of the remaining DDG for additional liquid fuel production. Aa can he appreciated from the figure, the profit jumps significantly because of the extra production of fuel that results (an estimated 18.5 million gallons per year).

Figure 11 shows an alternative with dehydration of the solubles using a spray dryer 28 orthe like, where the dehydrating gas is super heated steam. The exiting steam from the unit can then he directed to the evaporators where low pressure steam can be reused. This provides substantial energy savings and, thus, an increase in profit is reflected. Example 10

Referring to Figure 12, it illustrates the combination of using abiomass (such as corn) to produce syngas, and then the resulting conversion of the gas to liquid fuel, such as by using the Fischer-Tropsch process. In the specific case of corn, consuming 18 million bushels of corn per year results in an estimated 63.7 million gallons of liquid fuel. However, an oxygen generator is used to produce the oxygen for use in the gasification, which is costly (approximately $4,338/hour). Consequently, a net energy value of only 1.31 results. This demonstrates that the performance of processing biomass (whole kernel corn) in a gasifler that requires pure oxygen has profound operating costs and therefore a low net energy value. Example 11

Figure 13 provides an illustration of the technology of Figure 12, but using photosynthesis in bioTeactors to produce the oxygen used in gasification. With consumption again set at 18 million bushels of com per annum, 85.7 million gallons of liquid fuel are produced. Remarkably, profit as compared to Example 10 rises to $93.8 million, an almost 72% increase. The net energy value also becomes 2.7, which is more than double that of Example 10. Example 12 With reference to Figure 14, the improvement with partial oxygen production using algae tanks and biomass recoveiy with dehydration is shown. With annual consumption of 18 million bushels of corn, 85.7 million gallons of fuel are produced, producing estimated profit of $95. S million, which is not a subtantial increase over Example 12. However, due to the use of the biomass in the process, the net energy value becomes about 2.94. This example thus illustrates the potential to furtherreduce operating costs of the photosynthesis system when processing concentrated carbon dioxide that can be bubbled in a tank of water with less energy than required to circulate water within an atmospheric bioreactαr such as that described by Bayless et al. Example 13 Willi reference to Figure 15, this esampleillustratesaprocessingtechniquetorecoverenergyand useful by products from sewage sludge. This involves a drying step, such as by using a Carver Greenfield method with subsequent Fischer Tropach conversion of the dried biomass into liquid fuel. The Fischer Tropsch produced fuels can also used as the high boiling point fluid required by a Carver Greenfield process. Figure 16 shows sewage processing with photosynthesis added to the process to reduce production costs (oxygen) and increase yield with the algae biomasε. Example 14 hi this example, the biomass comprises municipal solid waste, or trash. As shown in Figure 17, the trash is dried by a dryer 28, which may employ steam drying, pneumatic conveying or spray drying. Next, the dry, homogenized biomass is converted into liquid fuels.

Figure 18 shows employing trash again, but with photosynthesis to reduce operating cost and increase yield Example 15

As previously noted, gas-to-liquid reactions such as those developed by Fischer-Tropsch are costly due to the capital and operating costs required to produce the pure oxygen consumed in the gasifier. The result is a fuel production process having a low net energy value.

Three cases for the production of oxygen, such as for use in Fischer-Tropsch or other processes, are shown in Figure 19. The first case illustrates the basic processing of flue gas using photosynthesis, which essentially outputs air. However, air is not as useful in value as oxygen in terms of syngas production or the like, and it is costly to recover oxygen from air.

In the second case, pure CO2, such as that created during fermentation processes or arising from oxygen fired pulverised coal combustion ("oxy-fud"), is used in photosynthesis. The result at least in theory is the production of substantially pure oxygen, which maybe undesirable from the standpoint of volatility. Thus, in the third case, the pure oxygen may be mixed with carbon dioxide, which is easier to separate than nitrogen because of the marked difference in density.

The foregoing description provides illustration of the inventive concepts. The descriptions are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications or variations are also possible in light of the above teachings. For instance, while several types of biomass are mentioned, skilled artisans will realize that the present inventions may be practiced with, other types of biαmass not mentioned. The term "bioreactor" as used herein is also meant to cover any closed or partially closed vessel (tank, silo, etc) in which a biological agent may undergo photosynthesis in the presence of at least light and carbon dioxide, and preferably with the addition of water and nutrients. The embodiments described above were chosen to provide the best application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the inventions in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention.

Claims

In the Claims

1. A method of enhancing the effects of photosynthesis occurring in a bioreactor, comprising: producing substantially pure oxygen via photosynthesis in the bioreactor using an input gas consisting essentially of carbon dioxide.

2. The method of claim 1, further including the step of adding carbon dioxide to the substantially pure oxygen.

3. The method of claim 1 , further including the step of using the oxygen to produce liquid fuel.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising using the liquid fuel in a Carver Greenfield process involving the biornass.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of producing liquid fuel generates steam, and further including the step of using the steam in an evaporator.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of producing liquid fuel generates steam, and further including the step of using the steam in a multi-effect evaporator.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the input gas comprises substantially pure carbon dioxide, and further including a gasifying step to produce the substantially pure carbon dioxide.

S. The method of claim 1, wherein the input gas comprises substantially pure carbon dioxide, and further including fermenting corn to produce the substantially pure carbon dioxide and mash, and distilling the mash to recover ethanol and whole stillage.

9. The method of claim 8, further including the step of separating the whole stillage into distillers wet grains and thin stillage.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of concentrating the thin stillage to form a syrup and then recovering oil from the syrup. i 1. The method of claim 10, further including the step of drying the leftover syrup to create dried solubles.

12. The method of claim 9, further including the step of drying at least the whole stallage to produce distillers dried grains,

13. The method of claim 12, further including the step of defatting the whole stillage before the drying step.

14. The method of claim 13 , further including the step of pelletizing the defatted distillers dried grains.

15. The method of claim 14, further including the step of gasifying the pelletized distillers dried grains.

16. The method of claim S₃ further including the step of converting the oil into biodiesel.

17. A method of enhancing the effects of photosynthesis, comprising: delivering compressed carbon dioxide to a bioreactor to produce oxygen via photosynthesis; and recovering oxygen from the bioreactor.

18. The method of claim 17, further including a gasifying step to produce the carbon dioxide.

19. The method of claim 17, further including a gasifying step using oxygen recovered from the bioreactor.

20. The method of claim 17, further including the step of producing synthetic gas with the oxygen recovered from the bioreactor.

21. The method of claim 17, further including the step of producing liquid fuel from a gas using the oxygen from the bioreactor.

22. The method of claim 17, further including the step of producing liquid fuel from a gas using the oxygen from the bioreactor in a Fischer-Tropsch process.

23. The method of claims 21 or 22, further comprising using the liquid fuel in a Carver Greenfield process to dry biomass.

24. The method of claim 17, further including fermenting corn to produce the carbon dioxide and mash and then distilling the mash to recover ethanol and whole stillage.

25. The method of claim 24, further including the step of separating the whole stillage into distillers wet grains and thin stillage.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of concentrating the thin stillage and then recovering oil from the concentrated thin stillage.

27. The method of claim 25, further including the step of drying at least the whole stillage to produce distillers dried grains.

28. The method of claim 27, further including the step of defatting the whole stillage before the drying step.

29. The method of claim 2S₅ further including the step of pelletizing the defatted distillers dried grains.

30. The method of claim 29, further including the step of gasifying the pelletized distillers dried grains.

31. The method of claim 25, further including the step of converting the oil into biodiesel.

32. A method of producing synthetic gas using oxygen resulting from photosynthesis in a bioreactor, comprising: gasifying com in the presence of the oxygen collected from the bioreactor.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the gasifying step comprises using steam.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the gasifying step produces enhanced synthetic gas, and the method comprises using the enhanced synthetic gas to produce the steam.

35. A method of processing distillers dried grains from stallage resulting from the dry milling of corn to produce ethanol. comprising: defatting the distillers dried grains; and gasifying the defatted distillers dried grains.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the defatting step comprises washing the stallage to remove oil therefrom.

37. The method of claim 35, further including the step of evaporating a liquid byproduct from washing the stallage to form a syrup and recovering oil from the syrup.

38. The method of claim 35 , wherein the evaporating step further includes evaporating thin stillage.

39. The method of claim 38, ftirther including the step of drying the leftover syrup to form dried solubles.

40. The method of claim 35, further comprising the step of pelletizing the distillers dried grains before the gasifying step.

41. The method of claim 35, wherein the gasifying step produces a synthetic gas, end the method further comprises converting the synthetic gas to a liquid fuel.

42. The method of claim 35, wherein the gasifying step produces concentrated carbon dioxide, and further including the steps of: delivering the concentrated carbon dioxide to abioreactor to produce oxygen and biomass via photosynthesis: and recovering oxygen from the bioreactor.

43. The method of claim 42, further including the step of using the oxygen from the bioreactor in the gasifying step.

44. The method of claim 42, further comprising: drying the biomass; gasifying the dried biomass to produce synthetic gas; and converting the synthetic gas to liquid fuel.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising adding liquid to the biomass before or during the drying step.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the liquid comprises the liquid fuel generated during the converting step.

47. A method of converting biomass into liquid fuel, comprising: drying the biomass using a multi -effect evaporator; gasifying the dried biomass to produce synthetic gas; and converting the synthetic gas to liquid fuel.

48. The method of claim 47, further comprising adding liquid to the biomass before or during the drying step.

49. The method of claim 47, wherein the liquid comprises the liquid fuel generated during the converting step.

50. A method of improving evaporation efficiency, comprising: utilizing a scraped surface heat exchanger to minimize the amount of a carrier fluid used in a Carver-Greenfield multi-effect evaporation process.

51. An apparatus for enhancing the effects of photosynthesis in the production of liquid fuel from coal, biomass, waste products, or the like, comprising: a compressor for compressing carbon dioxide; means for producing oxygen viaphotosynthesis and biomass using the compressed carbon dioxide; and means for using the oxygen.

52. The apparatus of cl aim 51 , wherein the means for using comprises a gasifier

53. An apparatus for producing synthetic gas using oxygen, comprising; means for producing oxygen via photosynthesis and biomass; and means for converting corn into synthetic gas in the presence of the oxygen collected from the producing means.

54. The apparatus of claim 53 , wherein the producing means comprises a bioreactor and the converting means comprises a gasirler.

55. An apparatus for pro cessing distillers dried grains from whole stillage resulting from the dry milling of corn to produce ethanol, comprising; means for recovering oil from whole stillage and producing defatted distillers dried grains; means for converting the defatted distillers dried grains into synthetic gas.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein the means for recovering oil comprises a plurality of mechanical separators, and the converting means comprises a gasifϊer.

57. An apparatus for converting wet biomass into liquid fuel, comprising: a multi-effect evaporator for drying the wet biomass; a gasifier for gasifying the dried biomass to produce synthetic gas; and means for converting the synthetic gas to liquid fuel.

58. A multi-effect evaporator comprising at least one scraped surface heat exchanger.