(592f) Process Modeling, Technoeconomic Analysis and Process Intensification of Biocatalytic Furfuryl Alcohol Production from Furfural Using Ethanol As the Terminal Reductant.

Biocatalytic processes have tremendous potential to supplement sustainable engineering efforts for the production of platform chemicals, fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. They offer substantial benefits owing to high product selectivity, broad substrate spectrum, low temperature operation, and the utilization of water as the reaction medium instead of organic solvents. However, biocatalytic processes face challenges to scale-up due to enzyme-stability and downstream separation challenges. In our previous studies, we characterized yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH)-catalyzed furfural reduction using ethanol as the reductant for the co-production of furfuryl alcohol and acetaldehyde. It was also demonstrated that covalently immobilized YADH offers higher stability and potential application in continuous synthesis. In this study, we perform a technoeconomic analysis of the downstream separation process of the product stream to recover furfuryl alcohol and acetaldehyde as pure streams. A conceptual process design using Aspen plus® was performed with economic analysis in two different scenarios to compare equivalent annual operating costs and determine the minimum selling prices of furfuryl alcohol ($3.10/kg) and acetaldehyde ($3.81/kg). In addition, a continuous synthesis process is also demonstrated by combining stirred tank reactor with in-situ gas stripping, using the immobilized-YADH, and it was observed that nearly 50% furfural conversion could be achieved with a residence time of ~3 hours compared to 74% in earlier batch processes. This example of process intensification is expected to reduce the minimum selling prices above upon further development. The study provides valuable insights to overcome the challenges in continuous biocatalytic processes for sustainable platform chemical production. It also demonstrates a template for a comprehensive evaluation of process economics of potential large-scale enzymatic processes.