Abstract
Furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) has gained significant attention due to its use as a precursor in the production of polyethylene furanoate (PEF). PEF is a bio-based plastic that can be used as a sustainable alternative in the production of plastics to replace PET derived from petroleum. In the FDCA production from biomass, there are three main steps: conversion of biomass to glucose, conversion of glucose to 5-hydroxy-methylfurfural (HMF), and oxidation of HMF to FDCA. The HMF production processes use high amounts of solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dichloromethane (DCM), and acetic acid, etc., to enhance the solubility, assist in the separation, and increase the production yield. The HMF and FDCA productions require the purification process and solvent recovery process. To assess the performance and improve the system efficiency of FDCA production from biomass, this work aims to design the integrated processes of HMF synthesis from biomass, FDCA production from HMF, HMF purification, and solvent recovery. The result indicates that the pressure and temperature of the evaporator for HMF separation affect the purity of HMF. The solvent recovery process of DMSO and DCM can enhance HMF yield by 21.6% and FDCA yield by 36.71%.
