From beech wood to itaconic acid: case study on biorefinery process integration.

Area of Science:

• Biomass Conversion
• Sustainable Chemistry
• Platform Chemical Synthesis

Background:

• Renewable raw materials present manufacturing challenges for platform chemicals in biorefineries.
• Research is increasingly focusing on integrated process chains from biomass to chemicals like lactic, succinic, and itaconic acid.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a complete process chain for producing the platform chemical itaconic acid from wooden biomass.
• To evaluate different fermentation and purification strategies for itaconic acid synthesis.

Main Methods:

• Mechanical pretreatment of beech wood followed by chemo-catalytic fractionation (OrganoCat).
• Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose pulp and fermentation of sugar streams using Aspergillus terreus or Ustilago maydis.
• Investigation of nanofiltration for acid catalyst recycling and downstream purification techniques (filtration, extraction, crystallization).

Main Results:

• A comprehensive process chain from wood to itaconic acid was established and evaluated.
• The impact of process conditions on product yield, catalyst choice, and downstream processing was demonstrated.
• Both Aspergillus terreus and Ustilago maydis were successfully employed for itaconic acid fermentation.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights the importance of realistic process conditions for optimizing itaconic acid production.
• The choice of catalysts, solvents, operation mode, and downstream concept significantly influences the overall process efficiency.
• This work provides a case study for the development of sustainable biorefinery processes for platform chemical synthesis.