Process design and integrative analyses for the production of bio-plastics
Process design and integrative analyses for the production of bio-plastics Wangyun Won Kyung Hee University 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is a promising renewable building block, which can replace conventional petroleum-derived terephthalic acid (TPA). Here, we develop and evaluate a new catalytic process for the production of a renewable plastic monomer (FDCA) from lignocellulosic biomass-derived cellulose. In this process, cellulose is converted into FDCA (38.6% carbon yield) via a two-step catalytic conversion: dehydration of cellulose to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF, 42% molar yield) and oxidation of HMF to FDCA (93.6% molar yield). To effectively recover the products as well as recycle the solvent, we designed a detailed separation subsystem, which is integrated with the reaction subsystem. Importantly, to effectively minimize the required energy consumption, a heat pump is employed and heat integration is conducted. In addition, pioneer plant analysis is conducted to investigate the broad range of economic feasibility. In our techno-economic analysis, the integrated process leads to a minimum selling price of $1532 per ton of FDCA, meaning that the cellulose-derived FDCA has the potential to replace petroleumderived TPA. In addition, sensitivity analysis reveals that the feedstock price and catalyst price are important parameters for the process. Furthermore, according to life-cycle assessment, the biomass-derived FDCA production is more environmentally favorable than the petroleum-derived TPA production....