Sustainable\nOne-Pot Production and Scale-Up of the\nNew Platform Chemical Diformylxylose (DFX) from Agricultural Biomass

The large-scale production of platform chemicals from\nbiomass requires\nefficient, cost-effective, and sustainable methods. Here, we present\nthree one-pot synthesis routes for producing diformylxylose (DFX),\na sugar-based solvent and platform chemical, using d-xylose\nor corncobs as feedstocks. With yields of approximately 80%, these\nroutes were seamlessly scaled from lab to kilogram-scale in a 15 L\nbatch reactor. Techno-economic assessment demonstrates the competitiveness\nof the proposed methods against fossil- and biobased analogues. Life-cycle\nanalysis shows the potential of these processes to reduce environmental\nand societal impacts from cradle to gate. At the “end of life”,\nDFX is demonstrated to be inherently biodegradable. Overall, we present\na compelling case study of scaling a novel platform chemical guided\nby techno-economic and environmental concerns leading to balanced\ncost-competitiveness and life-cycle sustainability.