Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Exhibit Hall
Styrene represents a key commodity chemical used in polymers and resins. Styrene is typically produced via petrochemically derived benzene and ethylene. Styrene has recently been produced biosynthetically for the first time, and bio-styrene may be a lower-energy and renewable alternative to conventionally produced styrene. However, the economics of such an approach have not been investigated. Using BioPET – an early-stage technoeconomic evaluation tool that we have previously described – a preliminary economic analysis of styrene has been conducted, using molasses as a fermentation feedstock. The fermentation broth was assumed to form a two-phase liquid that can be decanted at the end of a batch fermentation process. Using the currently achievable biokinetic parameter values (e.g., product yield), the biosynthetic product of styrene is not feasible at commercial scale. However, under realistic assumptions about future biokinetic parameters values, bio-based styrene appears to be commercially feasible. A sensitivity analysis revealed that cost distributions change significantly over the evolution of this new pathway.