A lignocellulosic 2,3-butanediol strategy: Process development and integrative analyses

Biomass can be a solution to environmental issues. In particular, 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO) is a commodity chemical with potential applications such as fuel, agriculture, pharmaceutical, and polymer industries. We developed an integrated process to produce 2,3-BDO from lignocellulosic biomass with tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA) and adipic acid (ADA) as co-products. The components of lignocellulosic biomass are cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, which are converted to 2,3-BDO, THFA, and ADA, respectively. Following process design, heat integration was performed to minimize the amount of utility required for the process, and accordingly, the economics improved. A case study was conducted to compare the ADA production process (base case) by suggesting a different process using lignin as an energy source. The results of the techno-economic analysis for the cases revealed that the minimum selling price of 2,3-BDO was lower in the base case ($1637 per ton) than in the other case ($1706 per ton). Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses were conducted to determine the cost factors that influence results and the effect on the process when uncertainty exists. Furthermore, the environmental impacts of the cases were analyzed through life cycle assessment.