Synthesis of some C4, C5 carboxilic acid building block chemicals from renewable biomass resources


Title of the project: Synthesis of some C4, C5 carboxilic acid building block chemicals from renewable biomass resources

Acronym: BioBuild

Funding source: Financing Agency for High Education, Research, Development and Innovation, Romania

Implementation period: 2012 - 2016

Country: Romania

Bio-based sector: Forestry and Agriculture

Stakeholders involved: Research and academia, industry partners and ASIMCOV

Description:

The project proposed a technology and an installation (small capacity, pilot plant phase) on a mobile platform, which can obtain the succinic acid near the source of wastes, agriculture fields or sawmills proximity.

The interconnected technologies developed by the BIOBUILD project include:

  • Conversion of alternative bio-masses (wood, potatoes, corn) to levulinic acid using combined ultrasound assisted heterogeneous catalytic process; 
  • Synthesis of succinic acid from levulinic acid or furfural, main by-product of levulinic acid production, by novel heterogeneous catalytic processes;
  • Conversion of levulinic acid to methyltetrahydrofurane; 
  • Conversion of glucose and/or glycerol to succinic acid by a fermentation process using novel genetically engineered E. coli strains. 

Now, in several countries, this acid is obtained from corn, potato and wood wastes by a fermentation process. The value of this product is high, because of its numerous application in high innovative sectors. In some countries, like US, France, Italy, they started to build industrial facilities for large scale production of succinic acid from wastes.

Link to the website: www.asimcov.ro