Biobased acrylic acid

By -

Type of post: Fact sheet.
Series: Biobased chemicals – Organic acids.
Publication date: 05/05/2021. Last update: 05/05/2021.

Description
- Organic acid with 3 carbon atoms.
- It is a clear, colourless, corrosive liquid with a characteristic acrid or tart smell.
- Other names: prop-2-enoic acid.


Applications
- Formation of homopolymers or copolymers which are used in the manufacture of various adhesives, coatings, diapers, detergents, paints, plastics and textiles. The main use of crude acrylic acid is the generation of acrylate esters, followed by the production of polyacrylic acid, used mostly in superabsorbent polymers.
- Chemical intermediate in multiple industrial processes.

Conventional petrochemical route
- Cracking of fossil naphtha to produce propylene / Oxidation of propylene.

Main biobased routes
- [3-HPA via] Fermentation of sugars to produce 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HPA) / Dehydration of 3-HPA.
- [Biobased naphtha via] Cracking of biobased naphtha to produce propylene / Oxidation of propylene.
- [Glycerol via] Dehydration of glycerol to acrolein / Oxidation of acrolein.
- [Lactic acid via] Fermentation of sugars to produce lactic acid / Dehydration of lactic acid.

Actors – Active projects
- ADM / LG Chem (1)
In 2019, ADM and LG Chem announced a joint development agreement to create biobased acrylic acid using ingredients from ADM corn processing.
- Axens / Cargill / IFPEN [Lactic acid via] (2,3)
In 2020, Procter & Gamble (P&G) granted Cargill an exclusive license that allows Cargill to develop and commercialize a technology that converts lactic acid into acrylic acid. At the end of that year, Cargill joined forces with Axens and IFPEN to further develop and scale the technology.

Actors – Suspended/idle projects
- Arkema [Glycerol via] (4,5)
In 2010, Arkema built a pilot plant in France (few kg per day) to convert biobased glycerol to acrylic acid. The process was developed to full-scale manufacturing readiness but put on hold as the high cost of glycerol.
- BASF / Cargill / Novozymes [3-HPA via] (4,5,6,7)
Novozymes and Cargill collaborated on renewable acrylic acid technology since 2008. Both companies worked to develop microorganisms that can efficiently convert renewable feedstock into 3-HPA. BASF joined the collaboration to develop the process for conversion of 3-HPA into acrylic acid in 2012. They demonstrated the production of 3-HPA at pilot scale in 2013 and also successfully converted 3-HPA to glacial acrylic acid and superabsorbent polymers in 2014. They were aiming to setup an integrated pilot plant (80,000 L fermentation vessels) by the end of 2014. BASF exited the partnership in 2015.
- Nippon Shokubai [Glycerol via] (5)
It developed catalysts that convert glycerin into acrylic acid. After reported success at the pilot scale, the further advancement and implementation of this route hinged on the availability and cost of glycerol.
- Novomer (4,8)
Novomer developed a route to produce glacial acrylic acid from plant-based and renewable feedstocks. The monomer is created via thermolysis of poly(3-hydroxypropionate).
- OPX Biotechnologies [3-HPA via] (4,9)
It developed a process using fermentation of sugar to 3-HPA followed by dehydration to make acrylic acid. It worked jointly with Dow Chemical to develop an industrial scale process. In 2015, Cargill acquired OPX Biotechnologies’ fermentation technology.

Market
- Global acrylic acid production in 2019: 8.3 Mtons (10). All acrylic acid capacity is based on the two-stage oxidation of propylene route.
- Global biobased acrylic acid production: Not commercial production. The current projects are still at early stages and are expected to take some years before commercialization.


References
(4) E4tech, RE-CORD and WUR (2015) “From the Sugar Platform to biofuels and biochemicals”. Final report for the European Commission, contract No. ENER/C2/423-2012/SI2.673791.
(5) Bonaire Le: “Bio-based Acrylic Acid: Considerations for Commercial Viability and Success”. Nexant, 2014.
(8) Novomer website.
(9) Cargill news: “Cargill acquires OPX Biotechnologies’ fermentation technology”, 28/04/2015. (10) ChemAnalyst – Global Acrylic Acid Market: 2020.

Popular Posts

Fotobiorreactores

By -
Image
El cultivo de microalgas no es algo novedoso, muchos de los métodos y conceptos que se usan hoy en día fueron desarrollados a finales del siglo XIX y principios de la pasada centuria. En décadas posteriores, se han ido refinando por la intervención de varias disciplinas que han trabajado de manera conjunta: biología, ingeniería de procesos, matemáticas y física. En los últimos 30 años, la industria biotecnológica de las microalgas ha crecido y se ha diversificado de manera significativa. Sin embargo, las aplicaciones comerciales existentes, todavía se hallan limitadas a comercios de bajo volumen y gran valor añadido como el de los suplementos alimenticios o el de los extractos (por ejemplo, el beta-caroteno). De acuerdo con un informe de IEA Bioenergy del 2010, la cantidad de biomasa algal producida comercialmente estaba en el entorno de las 9.000 toneladas. 1,2,3,4 Actualmente, el interés creciente que despiertan el empleo de las microalgas en la obtención de biocombustibles y e
Read more

Levulinic acid biorefineries

By -
Image
Publication date: 16/11/2015 Last update: 20/02/2016 Description 1,2 Levulinic acid (also known as 4-oxopentanoic acid or γ-ketovaleric acid) is an organic compound with chemical formula C 5 H 8 O 3 . It is a white crystalline solid soluble in water and polar organic solvents. It contains ketone and a carboxylic group whose presence results in interesting reactivity patterns. It is one of the more recognized Biobased Chemical Building Blocks , a starting material for a wide number of compounds (see Applications below). In fact, it was recognized by the US DoE as one of the top biobased platform chemicals of the future and it can successfully address many performance-related issues attributed to petroleum-based chemicals and materials. Process technologies 1,3,4,5 The controlled degradation of C6-sugars by acids is the most widely used approach to prepare levulinic acid from lignocellulosic biomass. Other methods have also been studied, for instance, the hydroly
Read more

Hydrotreating (HVO) – Advantages over FAME and properties

By -
Image
Versión en Español Section: ADVANCED BIOFUELS Series: HVO - Hydrotreating (HVO) – Concepts, feedstocksand specifications - Hydrotreating (HVO) – Advantages over FAME and properties - Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils (HVO) Biorefineries – The rise of renewable diesel - Posts: HVO Hydrotreating is an alternative process to esterification to produce diesel from biomass. Traditionally, diesel components produced from vegetable oils are made by an esterification process. In fact, HVO are commonly referred to as renewable diesel or green diesel in order to distinguish from Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME), best known as biodiesel. Other acronyms are also used depending on the feedstock, such as Rape Seed Methyl Ester” (RME), “Soybean Methyl Ester” (SME), “Palm Oil Methyl Ester” (PME) or “Used Cooking Oils Methyl Ester (UCOME). In the HVO production process, hydrogen is used to remove the oxygen from the triglycerides and does not produce any glycerol as a side product. Additi
Read more

Biobased polyolefins - Biobased Polyethylene (bio-PE)

By -
Image
Versión en Español Section: BIOBASED PLASTICS Series: Biobased Vinyl Polymers. - Biobased Polyethylene (bio-PE). Biobased Polyethylene (bio-PE) / Green Polyethylene / Renewable Polyethylene - Its biobased carbon content can reach 100%. - Renewable resource . It is produced from renewable biomass feedstocks as sugars or vegetable oils. - It reduces GHG emissions. Each ton produced captures and sequesters CO 2 from the atmosphere. - 100% drop-in . Chemically identical to its petrochemical counterpart. It has the same processing characteristics as fossil PE, therefore, it can be processed in the same equipment. - Non-biodegradable . It cannot be composted or biodegraded. - Thermoplastic . It can be molten and remoulded into the desired shape. - It can be recycled and processed into new bio-PE products using conventional technologies without requiring additional investments. - Building block or monomer: biobased ethylene .
Read more

Biorrefinerías de ácido succínico

By -
Image
Fecha de publicación: 16/10/2015. Última actualización: 20/12/2016. Introducción Dentro de muy poco, el blog contará con una nueva sección centrada en resumir la información disponible sobre las plantas piloto y comerciales de los bloques modulares verdes (BCBB por sus siglas en inglés, “Biobased Chemical Building Blocks”) más prometedores. Esta sección contará con enlaces a entradas monográficas que se actualizarán de manera regular. El motivo fundamental de empezar la serie con el ácido biosuccínico es que varias empresas han conseguido alcanzar objetivos importantes relacionados con su comercialización a gran escala. Claramente, es una de las 12 principales BCBB identificadas por el DoE que está cumpliendo con las expectativas generadas previamente. Descripción 1,2,3 El ácido succínico (ácido butanodioico) es un ácido dicarboxílico cuya fórmula química es C4H6O4. Se trata de un cristal incoloro y soluble en agua que posee sabor ácido. El nombre deriva del voc
Read more