Separation\nof 2,3-Butanediol from Fermentation Broth\nvia Cyclic and Simulated Moving Bed Adsorption Over Nano-MFI Zeolites

The biomass-based platform molecule 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO)\nhas\na wide range of applications in production of sustainable fuels, chemicals,\nsynthetic rubber, and others. However, the selective separation of\n2,3-BDO from multicomponent fermentation broths presents challenges\ndue to its low concentration, high solubility in water, high boiling\npoint, and presence of many other species. Here, we demonstrate remarkably\nselective enrichment and recovery of 2,3-BDO from a corn stover hydrolysate\nfermentation broth by a pure-silica nano-MFI-type zeolite adsorbent.\nBy means of cyclic and simulated moving bed adsorption processes,\nwe obtained concentrated aqueous 2,3-BDO streams from the fermentation\nprocess stream with ∼93% purity and 3-fold enrichment, and\n>98% purity and 8-fold enrichment, respectively. These findings\nprovide\nstrong support for large-scale adsorptive separation for biobased\n2,3-BDO production.