Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment of a biorefinery utilizing reductive catalytic fractionation
Andrew Bartling, Michael L. Stone, Rebecca Hanes, Arpit Bhatt, Yimin Zhang, Mary J. Biddy, Ryan Davis, Jacob S. Kruger, Nicholas E. Thornburg, Jeremy S. Luterbacher, Roberto Rinaldi, Joseph S. M. Samec, Bert F. Sels, Yuriy Román‐Leshkov, Gregg T. Beckham
Abstract
hydrogen donor reveals that reducing reactor pressure and the use of low vapor pressure solvents could reduce both capital costs and environmental impacts. Processes that reduce the energy demand for solvent separation also improve GWP, CED, and air emissions. Additionally, despite requiring natural gas imports, converting lignin as a biorefinery co-product could significantly reduce non-greenhouse gas air emissions compared to burning lignin. Overall, this study suggests that research should prioritize ways to lower RCF operating pressure to reduce capital expenses associated with high-pressure reactors, minimize solvent loading to reduce reactor size and energy required for solvent recovery, implement condensed-phase separations for solvent recovery, and utilize the entirety of RCF oil to maximize value-added product revenues.