Claypool Joshua T, Raman D Raj, Jarboe Laura R, Nielsen David R
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department, Iowa State University, 3222 NSRIC, Ames, IA, 50011, USA,
J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2014 Aug;41(8):1211-6. doi: 10.1007/s10295-014-1469-5. Epub 2014 Jun 18.
Styrene is an important commodity chemical used in polymers and resins, and is typically produced from the petrochemical feedstocks benzene and ethylene. Styrene has recently been produced biosynthetically for the first time using engineered Escherichia coli, and this bio-based route may represent a lower energy and renewable alternative to petroleum-derived styrene. However, the economics of such an approach has not yet been investigated. Using an early-stage technoeconomic evaluation tool, a preliminary economic analysis of bio-based styrene from C(6)-sugar feedstock has been conducted. Owing to styrene's limited water solubility, it was assumed that the resulting fermentation broth would spontaneously form two immiscible liquid phases that could subsequently be decanted. Assuming current C(6) sugar prices and industrially achievable biokinetic parameter values (e.g., product yield, specific growth rate), commercial-scale bio-based styrene has a minimum estimated selling price (MESP) of 1.90 USD kg(-1) which is in the range of current styrene prices. A Monte Carlo analysis revealed a potentially large (0.45 USD kg(-1)) standard deviation in the MESP, while a sensitivity analysis showed feedstock price and overall yield as primary drivers of MESP.
苯乙烯是一种用于聚合物和树脂的重要商品化学品，通常由石化原料苯和乙烯生产。最近首次使用工程化大肠杆菌通过生物合成方法生产出了苯乙烯，这种基于生物的路线可能是石油衍生苯乙烯的一种低能耗且可再生的替代方案。然而，这种方法的经济性尚未得到研究。使用一种早期的技术经济评估工具，对以C(6)糖为原料的生物基苯乙烯进行了初步经济分析。由于苯乙烯在水中的溶解度有限，假定所得发酵液会自发形成两个不混溶的液相，随后可进行倾析。假定当前C(6)糖的价格以及工业上可实现的生物动力学参数值（例如，产物产率、比生长速率），商业规模的生物基苯乙烯的最低估计售价（MESP）为1.90美元/千克，这处于当前苯乙烯价格范围内。蒙特卡洛分析表明MESP存在潜在的较大标准差（0.45美元/千克），而敏感性分析显示原料价格和总产率是MESP的主要驱动因素。
