Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Reducing foreign dependence on petroleum-based materials is a key to enhancing the US agricultural economy in the long-term. In recent years with the rising costs of petrochemical prices, there has been an increasing interest in renewable sourced specialty chemicals. Presently, less than 4 percent of U.S. chemicals sales are biobased in origin. A recent USDA analysis puts the potential biobased chemical market share in excess of 20 percent by 2025 with adequate federal policy support. If this rate of growth is achieved, the industry could create or save tens of thousands of additional jobs in the next five years. Increasing the production efficiency and the value of co-products in biofuel operations will also improve the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions from US biorefineries. The research developed under this proposal will address both the climate change and sustainable bioenergy priorities at USDA. This project will enhance two additional pathways for biobased materials, sucrose esters and glycerol carbonate, and facilitate their production viability in US biofuel refineries. The goal is to move these process improvements from the academic realm into commercial reality.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Researchers at Piedmont Biofuels and the University of Tennessee will evaluate the potential for utilizing biofuel co-products for high value biobased materials. The two key biobased materials that will be investigated are glycerol carbonate and sucrose esters. The goal of the project is to develop commercially viable, energy efficient routes for these biobased materials using enzymatic catalysis and solvent free conditions. Glycerol carbonate (GC) is a new platform chemical that can be produced from glycerol and can replace petroleum-based chemicals. Many commercial uses for glycerol carbonate have been presented and patented g lobally. Examples of uses are as a solvent in personal care products and in paints and coatings, as a moisturizing agent in cosmetics, as a CO2 absorption solvent, as a monomer for polycarbonate production and as a reactive solvent in polyurethane coatings. Researchers will evaluate the conversion of biodiesel co-product glycerol to glycerol carbonate using lipases in comparison to the current chemical pathway using dimethyl carbonate. In addition, investigators will assess the potential for simultaneous conversion of biodiesel and glycerol carbonate using lipases. GC production has not reached large-scale commercial usage due to the high cost of production when compared to alternate biobased and petroleum based compounds used for similar means. Furthermore, in the typical glycerol refining processes used in the biodiesel industry, producers may encounter a 20-30% fatty acid sidestream that is requires a significant capital investment to convert into biofuel. We will investigate an alternate value-added pathway for biorefineries by converting these fatty acids to sucrose esters for use as biobased surfactants and detergents. In this research phase, sucrose crystals will be formed on a sub-millimeter to micron size and assessed as to their performance in solvent-free, lipase-catalyzed sucrose ester production. Previously developed bioreactor systems and approaches for sucrose ester production will be used on the free fatty acid streams derived from co-product glycerol. Both the surface activity and properties of the sucrose esters will be assessed from the product stream in the research phase. The final phase will evaluate the implementation of these biocatalytic techniques for sucrose esters and glycerol carbonate within a biobased chemical refinery. By diversifying the waste streams from the United States' 176 existing biodiesel plants, we will build a fleet of biorefineries displacing multiple pathways of petroleum-based materials.
Project Methods
To achieve our proposed outcomes of this proposal our research team will: Evaluate enzymatic conversion of glycerol to glycerol carbonate (GC). Evaluate use of potassium fluoride as catalyst for conversion of glycerol to GC. Identify optimal GC production method(s) based on process efficiency and commercialization potential. Develop on-site testing capabilities for glycerol carbonate Form sucrose crystals of a sub-millimeter to micron size and assess their performance in solvent-free, lipase-catalyzed sucrose ester production. Apply previously developed bioreactor systems and approaches for sucrose ester production using free fatty acids derived from biodiesel co-product glycerol Assess the surface activity and properties of the sucrose esters produced from in this project.