PROCESS FOR MAKING BIOBASED PRODUCTS FROM SUGARS

An integrated, co-product capable process is provided for producing taurine in particular with optionally one or both of monoethanolamine and diethanolamine from one or more sugars, comprising pyrolyzing one or more sugars to produce a crude pyrolysis product mixture including glycolaldehyde and formaldehyde; optionally removing formaldehyde from the crude pyrolysis product mixture, then combining the crude pyrolysis product mixture with an aminating agent in the presence of hydrogen and further in the presence of a catalyst to produce at least monoethanolamine from the crude pyrolysis product mixture; optionally recovering diethanolamine from the crude reductive amination product, sulfating at least a portion to all of the monoethanolamine product to produce 2-aminoethyl hydrogen sulfate ester; and sulfonating the 2-aminoethyl hydrogen sulfate ester to produce taurine.