Market Development Biochemicals From Corn

By: Brian Doidge, Ridgetown College, University of Guelph

The OCPA, Casco and OMAFRA jointly funded an assessment of the market potential for the manufacture of industrial chemicals from corn glucose in Ontario. The March 2000 report, Biochemicals From Corn, co-authored by Dr. Dennis Miller, Michigan State University, and Brian Doidge, Ridgetown College, University of Guelph, concentrated on organic industrial chemicals, the processes for producing chemicals from corn-derived feedstocks, the status of research technologies, and an economic assessment of market potential.

It has been said that every chemical currently produced from hydrocarbons (petroleum) can be produced from carbohydrates (plants). Since the raw materials for biochemicals are generally biodegradable, are made from renewable domestic resources, and much of the processing is done in water ins

biomass conversion to most value-added products must be done via reduction reactions, which can be conducted with high selectivity, whereas petroleum is converted to the same products by selective oxidation which is inherently difficult to control.
biomass processing can usually be conducted in aqueous-phase, environmentally-benign systems, whereas petroleum processing must involve organic solvents which pose environmental hazards.
transportation of biomass, while costly, is environmentally risk-free, whereas crude oil transport involves substantial environmental risk, particularly when imported.
biomass is a renewable resource abundantly produced domestically, whereas crude oil is imported, especially in Eastern Canada.

The report considered fermentation and chemical/catalytic conversion as the primary processes for producing chemicals from corn-derived feedstocks...usually glucose. To be adopted, biochemicals must be able to be produced from glucose at a price equivalent to or cheaper than current petrochemical pricing. Glucose is produced in the wet milling process where corn starch is hydrolyzed to produce 33 pounds of glucose/bushel at a cost of about $0.06/lb if corn costs $3/bu U.S.$. Using this as the base, various chemicals and process technologies were assessed. Four economic analysis case studies are included in the report: lactic acid from glucose at a price of $0.252/lb (U.S.$); succinic acid at $0.26-$0.27/kg (U.S.$); propylene glycol from polyols from sorbitol at $0.138/lb (U.S.$); and polyhydroxybutyrate at $6.08/kg (U.S.$).

To determine a short list of biochemicals from corn that might be feasible to manufacture in Ontario, both technically and economically, from the more than 70,000 chemicals currently produced worldwide, the report assessed those chemicals:

candidate petrochemicals must not be exported in large volume as this would imply a large existing infrastructure in Ontario currently producing the chemical, thus making substitution less attractive to industry participants already heavily invested in existing processing and facilities.
candidate petrochemicals preferably should be imported by companies not part of or aligned with a large petroleum or petrochemical industry participant because this would again impede adoption.

Screening using this criteria identified an abbreviated list of chemicals totaling imports of $168 million Cdn$ in1999. A further shortened list of 8 chemicals (propylene glycol, sorbitol, glycerol, acetic acid, lactic acid, citric acid and its salts and esters, gluconic acid and lysine) represents imports of $154 m Cdn$ in 1999 and implies additional corn usage of 6.7 million bushels for import replacement into Ontario alone. Additional chemical derivative possibilities such as the following products from acetic acid dramatically expand market potential:

ethyl acetate (1999 Ontario import value $7.1 m) from ethanol and acetic acid ester
vinyl acetate (1999 Ontario import value $11.8 m)
polyvinyl acetate (1999 Ontario import value $6.8 m)
polymers and copolymers of vinyl acetate (1999 Ontario import value $2.4 m).

The Jungbunzlaur citric acid plant (currently under construction, on-stream late 2000, 34,000 mt initial output, likely to be quadrupled) adjacent to and using a glucose feed from Casco's Port Colborne corn wet milling plant, is merely the first of what is likely to become an impressive series of 'bio-refineries' located in Ontario. We have the corn, the technology and research infrastructure, the wet milling capacity, the surplus hydrogen for reduction process requirements and the market. As the report points out, within one day's trucking distance of Sarnia is a market representing:

54% of the entire U.S. payroll
54% of all U.S. manufacturing activity
48% of U.S. retail sales
65% of the entire Canadian Gross Domestic Product.