ELEVATE - Developing an optimised electro synthetic approach to produce Levulinic acid derivatives

Alternative text suggestion: With the Netherlands’ ambitious, yet necessary, target of reducing its CO2 emissions by 95% by 2050, compared to 1990 levels, the Dutch chemical industry must swiftly transition from petrochemical-based raw materials towards renewable, biobased feedstocks. The Dutch TSE Industry O&O project ELEVATE will accelerate the market uptake of biobased Levulinic acid and directly contribute towards the enhancement of the biobased economy in the Netherlands by optimizing the electrochemical conversion of Levulinic acid, to versatile biobased building block chemicals.

In a joint PNNL and NREL report, identifying the top twelve biobased building block chemicals,Levulinic acid - a nontoxic white crystalline keto acid derived from non-edible biomass - has been recognized for its potential to be utilized as a platform chemical for the production of a wide range of compounds across several and diverse markets. Nonetheless, fully unlocking the true potential of Levulinic acid requires further technological and market development.

Biobased building blocks

ELEVATE is the successor of the TSE project LEVEL (LEvulinic acid Valorisation via Electrochemistry, project number TBBE119003, concluded in December 2022) which focused on the optimized electrochemical reduction of Levulinuc acid to Valeric acid (see Fig. 1, green arrow). The TSE project LEVEL also revealed a promising pathway for the production of the di-functionalized molecule 2,7-Octanedione at the Anode.[1] The focal point of ELEVATE is thus the electrochemical oxidation, via Kolbe electrolysis, of Levulinic acid towards 2,7-Octanedione, which will subsequently be used to synthesize 2,7-octanediol: a key building block for the fabrication of plasticizers, lubricants, coatings and adhesives, to name a few. Two crucial bottlenecks with respect to the commercial viability of 2,7-Octanedione will be addressed during ELEVATE: (i) increasing the reaction selectivity to around 80 – 90% and (ii) estimating and ideally minimizing investment cost and operational expenditures (alleviation of downstream processing costs).

The ELEVATE project

ELEVATE is a three-year TSE Industry O&O project with a budget of €664,022.- combining the expertise of five different partners ranging from knowledge institutes, to SMEs and large companies, within both the Netherlands and France. By combining electrochemistry and electrochemical engineering, polymer chemistry, catalysis, Hansen Solubility Predictions and toxicological screening in an integrated fashion and trans-disciplinary approach, ELEVATE aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. Optimization of the Kolbe electrolysis process for the kilogram-scale production of 2,7-Octanedione at a high (>80%) selectivity;
2. Large, kilogram-scale synthesis of 2,7-Octanediol;
3. Synthesis and evaluation of 2,7-Octanedione- and 2,7-Octanediol derived products;
4. Determination of the toxicological profile of 2,7-Octanedione and the resulting downstream products;
5. Techno-economic evaluation of the electrochemical conversion of Levulinic acid to 2,7-Octanedione, the subsequent production of 2,7-Octanediol (cost of raw materials and processing) and environmental analysis of the levulinic acid-derived products;
6. Communication with key stakeholders along the entire value chain, implementation of received feedback and dissemination of noteworthy developments, results, publications and presentations.