Process integration for the conversion of glucose to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid

• Published in: Chemical engineering research & design Vol. 87; no. 9; pp. 1318 - 1327
• Main Authors: Boisen, A., Christensen, T.B., Fu, W., Gorbanev, Y.Y., Hansen, T.S., Jensen, J.S., Klitgaard, S.K., Pedersen, S., Riisager, A., Ståhlberg, T., Woodley, J.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.09.2009
• Subjects: 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid; 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural; Biorefineries; Glucose isomerase; Biorefineries; Glucose isomerase; 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural; 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid
• ISSN: 0263-8762
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2009.06.010

The development of biorefineries means that a key feedstock for many new processes will be sugars in various forms, such as glucose or fructose. From these feedstocks a range of chemicals can be synthesized using heterogeneous catalysis, immobilized enzymes, homogeneous catalysts, soluble enzymes, fermentations or combinations thereof. This presents a particularly interesting process integration challenge since the optimal conditions for each conversion step will be considerably different from each other. Furthermore, compared to oil-based refineries the feedstock represents a relatively high proportion of the final product value and therefore yield and selectivity in these steps are of crucial importance. In this paper using the conversion of glucose to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid and associated products as an example, alternative routes will be compared with respect to achievable selectivity, and achievable yield.