Comparative assessment of separation techniques for downstream processing of 2,3-Butanediol

•Separation of 2,3-BDO from actual fermentation broth is reported.•Reverse Osmosis membrane showed ability to hold 2,3-BDO from broth.•Sugaring-out separation method showed 68.79% recovery.•2,3-BDO recovery of 99% was seen using ammonium sulphate. 2,3-Butanediol (2,3-BDO) is a platform and fuel chemical having immense applications. Biological route of 2,3-BDO production through bacterial fermentation is reported to be more sustainable and greener alternative than the chemical method. Most of the research initiatives have focused towards 2,3-BDO separation from synthetic media however; the downstream separation of 2,3-BDO from actual fermentation broth is still a major bottleneck. The present study demonstrates environment friendly methods of 2,3-BDO separation from actual fermentation broth. 2,3-BDO produced via fermentation with the bacterial strain E. cloacae TERI BD 18 was used to analyze the effectiveness of the separation methods. Reverse osmosis membrane showed potential to separate 2,3-BDO from the actual fermentation broth. 2,3-BDO retention ability of the used RO membrane (fouled) was better, demonstrating more effectiveness in separating 2,3-BDO from the broth. Sugaring-out method showed the recovery of 68.79% of 2,3-BDO from the fermentation broth. Among the downstream methods tested, maximum 2,3-BDO recovery (99%) was observed with salting-out method using ammonium sulphate. This study further compares the adopted methods suggesting a solution-oriented and holistic approach for an economical and cost effective strategy for separation; promoting cleaner bio manufacturing of 2,3-BDO.