Current advances in distillation processes for fermentative acetone-butanol-ethanol purification

Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation is a primary strategy for producing bio-based n-butanol from abundant renewable biomass. In the typical ABE production chain, distillation is an essential unit for high purity A-B-E productions, but has long been criticized by the energy-inefficient processes due to the extremely low solvents concentration received in the upstream fermentation system. Over the past decades, efforts have been dedicated to developing eco-efficient ABE distillation processes aimed at reducing both energy costs and capital investments. In this review, a comprehensive overview on ABE distillation systems is provided from physico-chemical properties in feed and thermodynamics to the process constructions and applications. The recent trends in distillation sequence construction that fitting with the rapid developed upstream in situ product recovery (ISPR) systems are emphasized. Furthermore, towards developing a more efficient ABE distillation system, the review takes a broad overview of the intensification strategies for ABE distillation. Along with systematic introduction of the key examples, the future directions for ABE distillation techniques development are also discussed towards a sustainable and low-carbon emission biorefineries.