T33
Towards cost-efficient production of methyl propionate from lignocellulosic biomass
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Aventine Ballroom ABC/Grand Foyer, Ballroom Level
Methyl propionate (MePr) is a key intermediate for the production of methyl methacrylate (MMA), a building block in the polymer industry. The conventional way to obtain an ester such as MePr from biomass is to esterify a biomass-derived carboxylic acid. However, recent findings suggest that MePr can also be obtained by enzymatic oxidation of 2-butanone. Lignocellulosic biomass can thus be used as substrate for the fermentative production of 2-butanone, and coupling to the enzymatic oxidation would enable bio-based MMA production.
The techno-economic feasibility of such bio-based production of MePr starting from lignocellulosic biomass has been assessed. The overall design is based on a 2-fermentation approach, where the anaerobic conversion of lignocellulosic hydrolysate into the intermediate 2-butanol is coupled to the aerobic conversion of 2-butanol into MePr. The consecutive chemical conversion into MMA is left out of scope.
This conceptual design accounts for product output, energy consumption and carbon footprint. The microbial performance was predicted based on reasonable assumptions, and preliminary results showed that up to one mole of product per mole of glucose can be obtained, which should lead to relatively low feedstock costs. Furthermore, process integration with in-situ product removal should lead to decreased product inhibition, higher substrate utilization, greater productivity and more efficient product recovery.
The bio-based production of MePr can become profitable using the proper process configuration, and the development of such a process is crucial. The present study provides a clear direction where the development should be aimed at.
The techno-economic feasibility of such bio-based production of MePr starting from lignocellulosic biomass has been assessed. The overall design is based on a 2-fermentation approach, where the anaerobic conversion of lignocellulosic hydrolysate into the intermediate 2-butanol is coupled to the aerobic conversion of 2-butanol into MePr. The consecutive chemical conversion into MMA is left out of scope.
This conceptual design accounts for product output, energy consumption and carbon footprint. The microbial performance was predicted based on reasonable assumptions, and preliminary results showed that up to one mole of product per mole of glucose can be obtained, which should lead to relatively low feedstock costs. Furthermore, process integration with in-situ product removal should lead to decreased product inhibition, higher substrate utilization, greater productivity and more efficient product recovery.
The bio-based production of MePr can become profitable using the proper process configuration, and the development of such a process is crucial. The present study provides a clear direction where the development should be aimed at.