Biochemical production of succinic acid from biorefinery glycerol: De-risking, scale-up, and feasibility

This project addresses the production of succinic acid (SA), a top-added value chemical, through the fermentation of crude glycerol, the main biodiesel byproduct. Currently, SA is manufactured from petrochemicals or by fermentation of glucose. The bioconversion of crude glycerol will valorise this renewable side-stream, significantly improving the biorefinery economy, and providing an economic, sustainable SA production route with reduced carbon footprint. A combination of experimental methods at a range of scales, computational tools, and market analysis will be employed in order to: prove the feasibility of the downstream process, benchmark the succinic acid product against market standards, optimise the scale up of the fermentation process and identify and engage commercial end users. The aim is to make a significant step in reducing the risk of the proposed bioprocess to attract industrial investments, hence moving closer towards its industrial uptake and application.