(82b) Process Design, Techno-Economic Assessment and Environmental Impacts of Succinic Acid Production from the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste

This work focuses on process design and techno-economic evaluation of bio-based succinic acid production using the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) as crude feedstock. The upstream, fermentation and downstream separation and purification stages were simulated using the process simulator UniSim (Honeywell). The OFMSW contains free sugars, starch, cellulose, proteins and oils/fats. The OFMSW was initially fractionated for the separation of oils/fats and proteins followed by enzymatic hydrolysis of polysaccharides. Succinic acid production was carried out by fed-batch fermentations using either the bacterial strain Actinobacillus succinogenes or the genetically engineered yeast strain Yarrowia lipolytica. The optimal fermentation efficiencies (i.e. final succinic acid concentration, yield and productivity) were used. The recovery of succinic acid crystals was based on bacterial cell removal, decolourisation of fermentation broth using activated carbon, acidification of organic salts by ion-exchange resins, evaporation and drying. Techno-economic evaluation was carried out at various plant capacities. The greenhouse gas emissions and the non-renewable energy requirements were estimated.

Acknowledgements

Financial support has been provided by the STAR-ProBio project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 727740