Advanced downstream processing for sustainable ethyl acetate production by fermentation

Abstract Ethyl acetate is a platform chemical conventionally obtained through fossil fuel routes, but more recently its production by fermentation from carbohydrates has been scaled up to a pilot scale. Yet, the complexity of downstream processing (low product concentrations in liquid broth and in off‐gas, azeotrope formation, and the presence of microorganisms) may complicate industrial application. This original theoretical study is the first to develop advanced downstream processing, based on process intensification principles, for large‐scale recovery (~10 kton/year) of ethyl acetate after fermentation. To minimize product losses, ethyl acetate is separated from both the liquid broth and off‐gas. The final purification is performed in a highly integrated azeotropic dividing‐wall column. The economic and sustainability analysis shows that using refrigeration for initial product separation from the gas phase is more cost‐effective (~0.61 $/kg) and less energy‐intensive (2.20–2.40 kW th h/kg) than compression combined with high‐pressure condensation using chilled water (1.09 $/kg and 9.98 kW th h/kg).