| abstract |
Carbon-containing materials such as biomass (e.g., plant biomass, animal biomass and municipal waste biomass) or coal are processed to produce useful products such as fuels, carboxylic acids and their equivalents (e.g., esters and salts) . For example, feedstock materials such as cellulosic and / or lignocellulosic and / or starch materials can be used to produce ethanol, butanol or organic acids (such as acetic acid or lactic acid), salts of organic acids or mixtures thereof Is described. If desired, the organic acid may be converted to an alcohol, for example, by first converting an acid, salt, or a mixture of the acid and its salt into an ester and then hydrogenating the ester formed. Acetogen or homoacetzone, which can utilize syngas from thermochemical conversion of coal or biomass, can be used to produce the desired product. |