Biobased chemicals

Fig. 2.15 Historical average prices of petro- and biobased-chemicals (corresponding average oil price 23 bbl 1).

Platform chemicals are compounds that serve as building blocks for numerous chemical intermediates and end products. An example is ethylene, which serves as the feedstock for derivatives such as acetaldehyde, ethylene dichloride, ethylene oxide, polyethylene, vinyl acetate, and ethyl acetate. Biobased chemicals such as succinic acid, 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), and butanol also have the potential to be converted into multiple derivatives, some of which are commodity chemicals and others that are higher-value chemicals. 

Chen, X. et al (2013) Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli-. a sustainable industrial platform for biobased chemical production. Biotechnol Adv., 31, 1200-1223. 

For the production of biobased chemicals and materials, long-term goals have been estabUshed, which predict a substantial increase from 5% of the current production of target US chemical commodities in 2001 to 12% in 2010, 18% in 2020, and 25% in 2030. 

Bruijnincx PCA, Weckhuysoi BM (2013) Shale gas revolution an opportunity for the production of biobased chemicals Angew Chem Int Ed 52(46) 11980-11987... 

Keywords Biobased chemicals Biomass Biorefinery Catalysis Heterogeneous Homogeneous Lignin Lignin models Selectivity Thermochemistry... 

Bozell JJ, Black SK, Myers M, Cahill D, Miller WP, Park S (2011) Solvent fractionation of renewable woody feedstocks organosolv generation of biorefinery process streams for the production of biobased chemicals. Biomass Bioenergy 35 4197... 

De Jong E, Higson A, Walsh P, Wellisch M. (2012). Bio-based Chemicals Value Added Products from Biorefineries. Available at http //www.ieabioenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Task-42-Biobased-Chemicals-value-added-products-from-biorefineries.pdf [24.01.2014]. 

Lammens TM, Potting J, Sanders JP, De Boer IJ. (2011b). Environmental comparison of biobased chemicals from glutamic acid with their petrochemical equivalents. Environ Sci... 

Dapsens PY, Mondelli C, Perez-Ramrrez J. (2012). Biobased chemicals from conception toward industrial reality lessons learned and to be learned. ACS Catal, 2,1487-1499. 

Brochures, reports and publications on specific areas such as on Biobased Chemicals Bio-based Chemicals -Value Added Products from Biorefineries , Green Building Blocks for Biobased Plastics and Biofuel-driven biorefineries and A Selection of the most Promising Biorefinery Concepts to produce Large Volumes of Road Transportation Biofuels by 2025 . ... 

According to Gustavsson et al. food commodities can be grouped into cereals roots and tubers fruits and vegetables meat, fish and seafood milk and egg. Examples for substantial products are products derived from paper, timber, particle boards, biobased plastics, biobased chemicals and for energy carriers steam, biogases, biodiesel, bioethanol. 

The polarity of carbohydrates is a prime resource in chemistry. It can be exploited for designing water-soluble substrates which can be used in hydrophobic effect-driven selective reactions or amphiphilic molecules of industrial interest. Though envisioned several decades ago, these strategies find nowadays an immense scope of applications in the context of sustainable chemistry and biobased chemicals, notably in the fields of surfactants and polymers. 

The growth in bioplastics can be supported by the development of biobased plastics from non-food-based agricultural sources, the development of durable products in addition to biodegradable products, and the development of new biobased chemicals for thermoplastic and thermoset polymers. 

Moreover, in 2008, an FP7 specific joint call on biorefineries was published with a financial allocation of 57 million. It aimed to develop inter alia biobased chemicals and demonstrate the performance, sustainability and viability of the proposed biorefinery concepts. 

There are exceptions. Both corn wet milling and the pulp and paper industry are examples of biorefineries, and may eventually serve as the starting locations for broader biobased chemical production. 

Bomgardner MM (2012) A summer of start-ups for biobased chemicals. Chem Eng News 90(38) 10-15... 

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