Techno-economic evaluation of the 2,3-butanediol dehydration process using a hydroxyapatite-alumina catalyst

Prospects on bio-based 2,3-butanediol and acetoin production: Recent progress and advances

The bio-based platform chemicals 2,3-butanediol (BDO) and acetoin have various applications in chemical, cosmetics, food, agriculture, and pharmaceutical industries, whereas the derivatives of BDO could be used as fuel additives, polymer and synthetic rubber production. This review summarizes the novel technological developments in adapting genetic and metabolic engineering strategies for selection and construction of chassis strains for BDO and acetoin production. The valorization of renewable feedstocks and bioprocess development for the upstream and downstream stages of bio-based BDO and acetoin production are discussed. The techno-economic aspects evaluating the viability and industrial potential of bio-based BDO production are presented. The commercialization of bio-based BDO and acetoin production requires the utilization of crude renewable resources, the chassis strains with high fermentation production efficiencies and development of sustainable purification or conversion technologies.

Improvement of 1,3-Butadiene Separation in 2,3-Butanediol Dehydration Using Extractive Distillation

This study was performed to investigate the extractive distillation for 1,3-butadiene (1,3-BD) purification as a part of the 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO) dehydration process. The separation of 1,3-BD from 1-butene produced as a 2,3-BDO dehydration by-product while using distillation is complicated due to the similar volatilities of the two compounds. Thus, an extractive distillation system is proposed for the effective recovery of 1,3-BD, and is compared with a conventional distillation system in terms of its performance and economic feasibility. A higher 1,3-BD recovery rate was achieved while using the proposed system and the relative profitabilities of both separation systems were analyzed according to the market price of 1,3-BD, which is a decisive variable for economic feasibility.

Economic Analysis and Environmental Impact Assessment of Heat Pump-Assisted Distillation in a Gas Fractionation Unit

The depletion of fossil fuels and environmental pollution (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions) through the combustion of fossil fuels have stimulated studies on new technologies able to curtail the energy consumption of existing fractionation units. In this regard, heat pumps have garnered substantial attention due to their potential to improve the process energy efficiency. This study aims to provide extensive economic analysis and environmental impact assessment of the application of heat pumps under different conditions and scenarios. For this purpose, we first selected three important conditions: feed composition, plant capacity, and fuel price. Then, we performed a range of analyses to identify the major costs and environmental drivers. The economics and environmental impact of heat pump-assisted distillation was investigated and compared with those of conventional distillation.