Bioprocess Development for 2,3-Butanediol Production from Crude Glycerol and Conceptual Process Design for Aqueous Conversion into Methyl Ethyl Ketone

Abstract

The transition to the circular economy era necessitates the sustainable production of chemicals using crude renewable resources via integrated biological and chemical conversion routes. Within this concept, this study combined experimental fermentation development with conceptual process design and technoeconomic evaluation to demonstrate the feasibility of bio-based methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) production from crude glycerol derived from industrial biodiesel production using soybean oil alone or mixed with tallow fat. 2,3-Butanediol (BDO) production via fermentation of crude glycerol was initially developed using a Klebsiella michiganensis strain leading to 76.1 g/L BDO concentration with a productivity of 1.38 g/(L h) at a volumetric mass transfer coefficient of 77 h–1. Direct aqueous BDO conversion into MEK followed by purification via pressure swing distillation was subsequently evaluated via conceptual process design. The bio-based MEK minimum selling price (MSP) is close to the 11 year average market price of petroleum-derived MEK ($1.8/kg) when the crude glycerol cost is up to $0.1/kg at annual MEK production capacities higher than ca. 20 000 t. Monte Carlo simulations showed ca. 30% probability of obtaining an MSP lower than $1.8/kg at a crude glycerol cost of $0.1/kg. This study demonstrated the feasibility of cost-competitive bio-based MEK production as an industrial solvent and an intermediate chemical.

Recent advances in fermentative production of C4 diols and their chemo-catalytic upgrading to high-value chemicals

“…Many 2,3-BDO accumulating organisms, including bacteria and yeast strains, have been isolated and genetically engineered for high-level production. The microbes with the natural ability to accumulate 2,3-BDO can synthesize it from a variety of carbon sources, including sucrose, glucose, fructose, galactose, mannose, xylose, arabinose, and glycerol [10,24,31,35]. Table 2 summarises biosynthesis of 2,3-BDO from several pure substrates by various naturally producing bacterial strains and non-natural producer Saccharomyces cerevisiae.…”

Direct Electrosynthesis of 2-Butanone from Fermentation Supernatant

“…Acetoin was also synthesized from mixed sugar substrates and oil palm fiber or lignocellulosic hydrolysate, − lactose, and bakery waste with a titer of up to 65.9 g L –1 . A more detailed overview on different microorganisms forming acetoin can be found in the literature. ,, These advances in substrate range, microbial productivity, and scalability of the fermentation process, paired with the promising results of Ochoa-Gómez et al utilizing model solutions, demonstrate the high potential of a sustainable production route for 2-butanone via acetoin.…”

“…Recently, the acid-catalyzed dehydration of 2,3-BD to 2butanone in an aqueous environment has been investigated. 30 While the study showed promising results, the catalytic reaction was modeled, based on model solution experiments. 31 A different route to produce 2-butanone has been presented in 1984: In a two-stage process, 2,3-BD was first electrochemically oxidized to acetoin, which was subsequently reduced to 2-butanone.…”

“…Recently, the acid-catalyzed dehydration of 2,3-BD to 2-butanone in an aqueous environment has been investigated . While the study showed promising results, the catalytic reaction was modeled, based on model solution experiments …”

Enhanced l-Serine Production from Glycerol by Integration with Thermodynamically Favorable d-Glycerate Oxidation

“…With increasing manufacturing of biofuels, glycerol is produced in large quantities as the unavoidable byproduct of biodiesel production. − Converting the excess glycerol into high-value chemicals like l -serine is necessary for the sustainability of the biofuel economy. − In the present study, we designed an artificial enzymatic reaction cascade for conversion of glycerol into l -serine (Figure A). Glycerol was first oxidized into d -glycerate by alditol oxidase from Streptomyces coelicolor A3 (ScALDO).…”