Potential conservation of biomass in the production of synthetic organics

Hydrocarbon intermediates typical of the chemical industry are an inefficient route for the production of synthetic organics from biomass. This is demonstrated by stoichiometric calculations of mass losses of oxygen from biomass for various chemical reactions. As a result, the biomass required to meet the current US demand for synthetic organics would be more than three times the mass of current fossil fuel feedstocks. The mass losses can be avoided by converting biomass into oxygenated chemicals, not including fermentation of sugars into oxygenated alcohols. This alternative route would conserve about 50% of the biomass that would otherwise be required for the current mix of hydrocarbon processes across the synthetic organics industry. Oxygenated chemicals are surveyed briefly, including some considerations in finding oxygenated substitutes for hydrocarbon products. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.