Análise técnico-econômica e ambiental da produção de ácidos orgânicos a partir de biomassa lignocelulósica utilizando microrganismos recombinantes

Abstract

Organic acids are of great importance to the general industry, with a focus on the polymer industry. Among the most promising organic acids are succinic and cis,cis-muconic acids, which are considered building blocks because due to their simplified structure they can be used in a large number of applications. The search for the replacement of conventional chemical processes for the production of these acids with sustainable routes based on the use of renewable inputs has been growing in recent years, especially in the use of biotechnological routes. However, the processes still face economic and environmental issues due to the complexity of their purification steps, the need for planting for production and the low yield of the reaction. This work aimed to perform a technical-economic and environmental analysis of the production of muconic acid and succinic acid, considering different production scenarios and drawing a comparison between different biotechnological routes and the conventional chemical route. This allowed for the identification of the applicability of the processes within the Brazilian scenario and the identification of points that require greater attention of choice and need for improvement. The analysis showed that muconic acid still requires more efficient microorganisms and purification steps to be competitive in the market. The compound presents a yield below 10%, which contributes to a minimum selling price of US$ 45.81. The low yield also hinders the environmental performance of the proposed process. The production of succinic acid by biotechnological route was economically interesting, presenting a minimum selling price of US$ 3.06, a little above the US$ 2.94 found in the international market. From an environmental point of view, the route allows for the reduction of emissions in important environmental impact categories, such as climate change potential, eutrophication, acidification and shortage of renewable resources.