A fermentation process was being developed by a customer for generation of a valuable product from biomass. In collaboration with the customer’s technical team, a process scheme was developed for isolation and purification of the desired product. After initial laboratory proof of concept, hundreds of kilograms of broth were provided for pilot-scale processing. The processing scheme included treatment in a cation and subsequently an anion transfer bed, followed by carbon bed treatment to remove potential color-forming materials.  The resulting treated broth was passed through an evaporation step to reduce the water content.  This concentrated solution was distilled in a two-column system to produce the high-purity product.  The product and processing sequence validated the concept. As part of the project, AVN developed an Aspen model of the process, which was validated with pilot plant performance data.  This refined model forms the basis for equipment specifications and economic analysis of the potential commercial process. 

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