Production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) from starch, glucose, or high-fructose corn syrup: techno-economic analysis

This paper presents a techno-economic analysis of a low-cost and high-efficiency technology for the production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) from starch, glucose, or high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). With the design presented here, it is viable to convert starch to glucose through enzymatic hydrolysis followed by catalytic dehydration of glucose with niobium phosphate, an innovative low-cost catalyst, to produce 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF). The HMF produced is then converted into FDCA via air oxidation over a cobalt-manganese mixed oxide catalyst. Three variations of this design are assessed: Scenario 1 starts with starch, and Scenarios 2 and 3 start directly with glucose or HFCS, without the initial starch hydrolysis step. The minimum selling price (MSP) and discounted payback period (PBP) were calculated to investigate the feasibility of the scenarios. A sensitivity analysis was also performed for the key cost drivers, selling price of FDCA, and spent catalysts. All scenarios were feasible; however, the HFCS to FDCA process was the most profitable (MSP 1802 US$/t and a PBP below 5 years). Above all, the feasibility of this technology is mostly affected by variations in recovered catalysts and FDCA selling prices. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.