The unique characteristics and composition of macroalgae offer new possibilities for the production of bio‐based products such as biofuels and commodity chemicals. The technologies required for processing macroalgae are not currently mature enough, and those that exist are primarily oriented towards the production of biofuels. This study explores a production process to produce lactic acid (LA) from brown algae, designed with a capacity of 11 t h⁻¹ of product. Four scenarios are simulated in Aspen Plus, for the production of polymer‐grade LA, utilizing Laminaria macroalgae as a feedstock. Techno‐economic models are established to investigate the feasibility of these new technologies. Configurations for heat recovery are suggested to maximize productivity, and a minimum viable selling price (MVSP) is calculated for LA to predict an optimal design configuration. The process does not recover investment, when using a composition represented by an avarage value for all the Laminaria sp. Moreover, the percentage difference between the MVSP and the current selling price (SP) is 34%. Nonetheless, when using Laminaria digitata, which comprises of higher carbohydrates, compared to other Laminaria sp, the percentage difference between the MVSP and the SP is estimated to be 28%. If the hypothetical fermentation of alginate is considered, the invested capital is recovered by the 11th year. These results also highlight the need for research into the valorization of the alginate fraction, improving the microorganisms’ ability to metabolize alginate to LA or other relevant products. The development of the respective processes would be a step that the scientific community would be justified in examining. © 2020 Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

中文翻译：

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第三代生物质的商品化学生产：乳酸生产的技术经济评估

大型藻类的独特特性和成分为生产生物基产品（如生物燃料和日用化学品）提供了新的可能性。目前，加工大型藻类所需的技术还不够成熟，而现有的技术主要是针对生物燃料的生产。这项研究探索了一种从褐藻生产乳酸（LA）的生产工艺，该工艺设计成产品的容量为11 th ^-1。在Aspen Plus中模拟了四种利用海带生产聚合物级LA的方案大型藻类作为原料。建立了技术经济模型来研究这些新技术的可行性。建议使用热回收配置以最大化生产率，并为洛杉矶计算最低可行售价（MVSP）以预测最佳设计配置。当使用由所有Laminaria sp的平均值表示的成分时，该过程无法收回投资。此外，MVSP与当前售价（SP）之间的百分比差异为34％。尽管如此，当使用掌状，其包括较高的碳水化合物，相对于其他海带属，MVSP和SP之间的百分比差异估计为28％。如果考虑海藻酸盐的假想发酵，则在第11年收回投资资本。这些结果也突出表明需要研究藻酸盐部分的增值作用，提高微生物将藻酸盐代谢成LA或其他相关产品的能力。各个过程的发展将是科学界进行审查的合理步骤。©2020工业化学学会和John Wiley＆Sons Ltd