Techno-economic analysis of a succinic acid biorefinery coproducing acetic acid and dimethyl ether

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production Vol. 230; pp. 1165 - 1175
• Main Authors: Ghayur, Adeel, Verheyen, T. Vincent, Meuleman, Erik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2019
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Biorefinery; Carbon negative; Circular economy; Succinic acid; Techno-economic analysis; Succinic acid; Techno-economic analysis; Biorefinery; Circular economy; Acetic acid; Carbon negative
• ISSN: 0959-6526; 1879-1786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.180

The production of platform chemicals via carbon negative technologies will play an important role in global efforts to mitigate climate change. Succinic acid biorefineries are commercially mature carbon negative technologies that are plagued with large waste streams in the form of hemicellulose and gypsum. Here, a techno-economic analysis assesses the viability of a succinic acid biorefinery wherein hemicellulose is converted to acetic acid and dimethyl ether, and gypsum generation is avoided. Succinic acid is a feedstock for biodegradable plastics, acetic acid replaces petroleum-derived sources, and dimethyl ether is ideally suited as an energy storage vector. Our novel biorefinery concept presents an innovative integration of commercial technologies including water-splitting bipolar membrane electrodialysis for acid purification. The modelled multiproduct biorefinery (Multi Case) annually consumes 650,000 metric tonnes (t) of pulp logs, 135,000t of methanol, 1,700,000t of water, 42,000t of CO2 and 89 MW of electricity to produce 220,000t of succinic acid, 115,000t of acetic acid and 900t of dimethyl ether. All the parasitic electricity and heat duties are fulfilled within the biorefinery. Results show a CAPEX of AUD $635,000,000, OPEX of $180,000,000 and a succinic acid Minimum Selling Price of $990/t. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses of the Multi Case biorefinery model show it is also resilient to price fluctuations. •Techno-economic analysis of a multiproduct succinic acid biorefinery is presented.•Minimum Selling Price (MSP) for succinic acid is AU$990 per metric tonne.•Acetic acid and dimethyl ether are produced as coproducts.•MSP is only 6.4% higher than for typical succinic acid biorefineries.