Production of bio-based acrylic acid

It promises advantages over the conventional production of propene: milder reaction conditions, a simpler reactor technology and a bio-based raw material source.  The process development took place in cooperation with the industry partner Procter & gamble (P & G). Promoted the project has the Ministry of food and Agriculture (BMEL) about the project carrier specialist agency renewable raw materials e. V. (FNR).

The catalytic reaction system based dehydration on a dehydration supported by a Nucleophile, the researchers briefly as NADA – assisted Nucleophilic referred to acrylates. The NADA system converts lactic acid and lactic acid derivatives with hydrogen bromide Catalysis at yields of about 80 percent to acrylic acid. In the course of the development of NADA, the researchers identified novel, promising lactic acid derivatives such as 2-Brompropionsäure, which synthesize itself from commercially available substrates such as lactic acid or DL-lactide and convert to bio acrylic acid.

A continuous miniplant laboratory facility

On this basis, the NADA technology was divided into several process driving. The required reaction temperature of the NADA system lies at around 200 ° C and is thus lower than the 250-400 ° C, expires in the acrylic acid production from propene. The lactic acid dehydration already before the project experiments successfully conducted through gas phase reaction required temperatures of 300 to 400 ° C.

The researchers built and optimized a continuous Miniplant laboratory facility on base of the NADA developed technology. Currently the most economically promising variant of possible NADA process driving the industry partner will be validated technically and economically P & G. P & G is looking for a technology partner for further development of the process in the industrial scale also.

The study is available via the website of the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe.

Image source: Pixabay