Downstream process development of biobutanol using deep eutectic solvent

Biobutanol is produced from lignocellulose fermentation. Owing to the abundance of this feedstock andthe similarities between the properties of biobutanol and gasoline, biobutanol represents a promising alternative to currentcrude-oil-based automotive fuel. Environmentally friendly recovery of biobutanol from the fermentation productsis 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-randomtwo-liquid (NRTL) parameters that were compatible with the process design program were derived using experimentalmeasurements and molecular simulations. For the liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) parameter estimation, a non-iterativeprocedure was introduced with a suitable arrangement of binary parameters for the DES. Compared to previousstudies, the process design results indicate a marked reduction in energy consumption for the near-complete recoveryof high-purity biobutanol, requiring a comparable investment. KCI Citation Count: 0