Voltachem announces promising results in electrochemical production of Lactic Acid (LA) from Propylene Glycol (PDO).
PDO can be made cheaply out of glycerol, a byproduct from the production of biodiesel. With the use of renewable energy this results in another ‘green’ LA and an alternative to the production of LA through fermentation of sugar .
What makes the business case attractive is the use a combination of the commonly available TEMPO mediator with graphite electrodes instead of expensive noble metals as electrode material.
Focus is now on continuous production, for which they use the same pilot that was earlier used to develop the electrochemical oxidation of biobased 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA).