Advances in the Research and Development of Acrylic Acid Production from Biomass1

The shortage of petroleum has resulted in worldwide efforts to produce chemicals from renewable resources. Among these attempts, the possibility of producing acrylic acid from biomass has caught the eye of many researchers. Converting the carbohydrates first to lactic acid by fermentation and then dehydrating lactic acid to acrylic acid is hitherto the most effective way for producing acrylic acid from biomass. While the lactic acid fermentation has been commercialized since longer times, the dehydration process of lactic acid is still under development because of its low yield. Further efforts should be made before this process became economically feasible. Because of the existence of acrylic acid pathways in some microorganisms, strain improvement and metabolic engineering provides also a possibility to produce acrylic acid directly from biomass by fermentation.