Economic analysis of polyhydroxybutyrate production by Cupriavidus necator using different routes for product recovery

The aim of this study was to conduct an economic assessment of the entire polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production process by Cupriavidus necator, using citric molasses as carbon source and employing propylene carbonate as solvent coupled with different extraction pretreatment methods. Four extraction alternatives were assayed. The alternatives that uses high pressure and heat to pretreat the biomass showed equally lower production costs (US$ 4.28 per kg) and better economic indicators among evaluated scenarios. It was observed that method's extraction capacity is not decisive in selecting the best alternative, but there must be the simultaneous analysis of extractability capacity and expenditures in equipment and utilities. Through five times increase in production capacity, the production cost significantly decreased, reaching US$ 2.71 per kg. Furthermore, achieving high cellular concentration can be responsible for a reduction of up to 18% in the production cost.