Screening method to prioritize relevant bio‐based acids and their biochemical processes using recent patent information

Abstract

There are increasing environmental and economic demands for the production of chemicals of industrial interest from renewable resources. Among the renewable products, short‐chain carboxylic acids (C1‐C6) stand out due to their importance in many sectors of the economy. Within this class, a wide variety of acids are industrially valuable as the precursors of many other chemicals for different applications, technological solutions, and markets. This makes it difficult to identify the most promising from a technical and economic standpoint. In this work, data on scientific papers and patents published between 2008 to 2017, related to the main bio‐based carboxylic acids, are used to identify the acids that are generating growing scientific and industrial interest. The biochemical processes in patents associated with the production of such acids are evaluated using a multicriteria approach that integrates valuation patent criteria. The results of this study show that acids that are of substantial commercial interest, such as acetic, citric, lactic, acrylic, and methacrylic acids, have the highest growth rate both in scientific papers and patents. In terms of biochemical processes, the multicriteria decision analysis showed that the most relevant processes described in patents were associated with ‘drop‐in’ acids such as methacrylic, adipic, maleic, acrylic, and glutaric acids. There is also a clear indication of the emergence of studies on low volume acids such as acetoacetic, acetolactic, muconic, and levulinic acids. In conclusion, the analysis shows that emerging scientific and technological production is conservative, focusing on acids with established markets, especially for the substitution of petrochemicals for immediate demand. © 2020 Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

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