Downstream process development of biobutanol using deep eutectic solvent

摘要

Biobutanol is produced from lignocellulose fermentation. Owing to the abundance of this feedstock and the similarities between the properties of biobutanol and gasoline, biobutanol represents a promising alternative to current crude-oil-based automotive fuel. Environmentally friendly recovery of biobutanol from the fermentation products is essential for achieving carbon-neutral production. Because extraction substantially lowers the energy demand for distillation, an eco-friendly deep eutectic solvent (DES) was applied for biobutanol extraction here, and the non-random two-liquid (NRTL) parameters that were compatible with the process design program were derived using experimental measurements and molecular simulations. For the liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) parameter estimation, a non-iterative procedure was introduced with a suitable arrangement of binary parameters for the DES. Compared to previous studies, the process design results indicate a marked reduction in energy consumption for the near-complete recovery of high-purity biobutanol, requiring a comparable investment.