Integrated process for electrocatalytic conversion of glycerol to chemicals and catalytic conversion of corn stover to fuels

This study presents two biomass conversion strategies: electrocatalytic glycerol-to-chemicals (eGTC) and catalytic corn stover-to-fuels (cCTF). The effect of process integration combining eGTC with cCTF on a commercial scale is investigated to improve energy efficiency and economics of the strategies. In the integrated process strategy, most of the heat requirements for eGTC are supplied by cCTF, and most of the hydrogen requirements for cCTF are provided by eGTC. Process integration leads to higher energy efficiency (27.6%) of integrated process strategy compared to the eGTC-only process (11.4%). The minimum selling price for the integrated process strategy is estimated to $2.35/kgGLA which can be more economically feasible than the eGTC-only process strategy ($2.55/kgGLA).