From Biomass to Adipic Acid: Techno-Economic and Life-Cycle Assessments of 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid Conversion by Hydrogenation and Ring-Opening Hydrogenolysis

This study presents an advanced and sustainable production pathway for adipic acid (AA) derived from the second-generation biomass conversion of furan 2,5-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) via catalytic hydrogenation and ring-opening hydrogenolysis. A structured methodology that combines process design, simulation, techno-economic analysis (TEA), and life-cycle assessment (LCA) was studied to determine the most effective processing strategies and assess the overall feasibility. The optimized pathway achieves a minimum selling price (MSP) of $1819/t, placing it within a competitive range compared to petrochemical-derived AA. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the plant capacity, raw material cost, and AA market price are the key economic drivers. LCA results demonstrated that the proposed pathway reduces global warming potential (GWP) by over 50% and nonrenewable energy use by 18% compared to conventional routes. Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) that were conducted to evaluate investment risk under fluctuations in capital expenditures, raw material costs, and operating conditions further confirmed the robustness of the investment under uncertain market competitiveness. Overall, the results in this work highlight the environmental and economic advantages of the proposed biomass-based FDCA-to-AA pathway and its potential to replace fossil-based AA production in a carbon-constrained economy.