Patent ID: 9243207
Filing Date: 2016-01-26
CPC Classification: C11B,C12M

Claim Text:
1. A method for recovering products from algae, comprising: mixing an algae feed with particulate solids, the algae feed comprising from 0.1 wt % to about 30 wt % algae in water, the particulate solids having an average particle size between about 1 μm and about 200 μm, the weight of the particulate solids being at least about 10% of the weight of the algae feed; exposing the algae feed to a solvent under effective solvent extraction conditions, the effective solvent extraction conditions including a temperature of at least about 40° C. and a pressure of about 100 psig (0.7 MPag) to about 2500 psig (17.2 MPag), to form an extraction mixture comprising the solvent, the particulate solids, water, extracted products, and residual algae solids; and recovering at least a portion of the extracted products from the extraction mixture by separating the extraction mixture to form a first stream comprising at least 50 wt % of the water and at least 50 wt % of the residual algae solids and a second stream comprising at least 50 wt % of the solvent and at least 50 wt % of the extracted products, thereafter recovering at least a portion of the extracted products from the solvent.