605 Industrial Production of 3-Hydroxypropionic Acid from 122 Biodiesel Waste by Microbial Fermentation R. Kirstrand 1DTU Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark INTRODUCTION Our world is slowly running out of fossil fuels and our continuously increasing demand and need for more efficient, greener, low cost and sustainable production of energy, materials and chemicals calls for innovative alternatives for a sustainable future. In some areas, emerging or industrial biotechnological solutions can be of special interests, since they can be both economical viable and environmental friendly. One area where this is particular true is for production of so-called platform chemicals or building block chemicals, which can be used as starting points for making more sophisticated and advanced organic and polymeric structures. One chemical of interest is 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), since it can be used to make acrylic acid, a type of plastic used in many industries such as packaging, toys and house hold care. Today, the annual production of acrylic acid is 5 million tons with a total market value of $8 Billion USD, and it is all made from petrochemicals via chemical synthesis using a variety of hazardous chemicals. THE PROJECT IDEA This project evaluates the techno-economical possibilities of building a plant for production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid from glycerol, a major byproduct from biodiesel production, by utilizing microbial fermentation. The plant is designed to cover 1 % of the market, which corresponds to an annual plant production of 36.000 tons/year. The project idea includes a comprehensive literature study, overview of alternative processes, elucidating a metabolic engineering strategy for bio-based production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid from glycerol waste by microbial fermentation, flowsheet for production process, sizing and location of production plant, commercial assessment and a plan for investigating future research targets. CONCLUSION In total, the project concluded that it is possible to commercialize a production process for 3- hydroxypropionic acid from glycerol, although yield, productivity and titer of the fermentation must be improved, before the process will be economically viable and product price is comparable to the current price of petroleum-based acrylic acid. It is estimated that the proposed process can reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and fossil energy consumption by more than 50% when compared to traditional petroleum-based acrylic acid production. PRODUCTS AND SUSTAINABILITY POSTER IDEA MASTER LEVEL COURSE/PROJECT
Grøn Dyst 2016
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