ExCryst

The raw material transition results in the necessity to change the value chain in the chemical industry to renewable or recycled carbon sources in order to reduce the dependence on fossil sources. Biotechnologically producible platform chemicals, such as carboxylic acids, represent a promising opportunity for the raw material change. However, biotechnological production can rarely compete with established petrochemical processes. To render the biotechnological production of platform chemicals economically and ecologically competitive, new separation techniques are required for the processing of the biotechnological platform chemicals. Electrochemical separation techniques show great potential for this purpose, since the use of electricity drastically reduces the use of chemicals and avoids saline wastewater, which is one major economic and ecological disadvantage in the conventional processing of biotechnologically produced carboxylic acids. The electrochemical pH-shift crystallization developed by ExCryst is a key technology for the successful realization of the raw material transition. It enables ecological production processes for bio-based chemicals and offers potential for sector coupling with the energy industry. As part of the Innovation Sprint, the existing laboratory reactor will be transferred to pilot scale, set up, commissioned, and characterized to demonstrate the potential of the separation technology under near-industrial operating conditions.