A comprehensive perspective on sustainable bioprocessing through extractive fermentation: challenges and prospects

Extractive fermentation is a potential process intensification integrated with aqueous two-phase extraction for simultaneous in-situ product recovery during fermentation to improve the efficiency of any bioprocess industry. This minimizes the innate product inhibitions, recovery, operational issues, and sustainability during conventional fermentation. The efficiency of the extraction process is hampered by the toxicity, non-biodegradability, and recycling of solvents associated with two-phase extraction. In comparison to conventional fermentation and purification techniques, extractive fermentation has several benefits such as higher product yields, lower costs for subsequent processing, and the ability to synthesize molecules that are challenging to recover using traditional methods. Extractive fermentation is a sustainable method for enhanced product recovery with the adaptability of reactor and solvent recyclability. An in-depth discussion of the necessity for this technology, the significance of green solvent selectivity, reactor modification at the standpoint of green engineering is addressed in this review. The overview aims to shed light on the importance of life cycle assessment and economic analysis on process integration in facilitating the development of more eco-friendly bioprocessing systems for replacing in-situ extraction technologies. Graphical abstract