Process development and analyses for the co-production of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran and 1,4-pentanediol from lignocellulosic biomass

The development
of technologies for utilizing biomass
has attracted attention because biomass can be produced sustainably
worldwide. Biomass-derived 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF), which is a
promising alternative to gasoline, has great market potential
and a growing demand. However, in conventional biomass
conversion processes, the minimum selling price (MSP) of
biochemicals is not economically acceptable. Co-production of
biochemicals can increase the economics of biomass
utilization. Herein, we developed a process
for coproducing MTHF and 1,4-pentanediol (1,4-PDO) from
lignocellulosic biomass. After biomass fractionation, cellulose and
hemicellulose were converted to levulinic acid (LA),
and lignin was used for heat and electricity
generation. LA was then converted to
γ-valerolactone (GVL). As a platform material for co-production,
GVL was converted into MTHF and 1,4-PDO in each
subsystem. The split ratio of GVL was controlled to
efficiently produce MTHF and 1,4-PDO according to market conditions.
Additionally, we performed a techno-economic and life-cycle
assessment (TEA and LCA, respectively) for the developed process.
The MSP of MTHF was calculated based on the TEA results,
and the environmental impacts were quantitatively calculated based on the
LCA results. We performed heat integration using pinch analysis
and then reduced the energy requirement of the proposed process. The key
cost drivers and environmental factors of the proposed process
were identified via sensitivity
analyses. Consequently, during
the processing of 2,000 ton/day of corn stover
(raw material of lignocellulose), the MSP of MTHF was calculated as
$2.64/GGE (gasoline equivalent), and representative environmental impacts
such as climate change and fossil
depletion were calculated as -0.296 kg
CO2 eq and -0.056 kg oil eq, respectively. As a
result, we can increase the economics of commercial production of MTHF and
1,4-PDO with environmental sustainability. The
proposed process can serve as a potential solution to the growing demand
for the need for more sustainable biomass utilization.