Process for the production of an organic acid from a lignocellulosic feedstock

1. A process for the production of an organic acid from a lignocellulosic feedstock, wherein the process is integrated with a pulp mill and comprises the steps:

a) providing a lignocellulosic feedstock;

b) obtaining an alkaline liquor from the pulp mill;

c) pre-treating the lignocellulosic feedstock with the alkaline liquor, thereby obtaining a pretreated cellulosic feed and a black liquor;

d) obtaining calcium oxide from the pulp mill;

e) subjecting the pretreated cellulosic feed from step c) to enzymatic hydrolysis, thereby obtaining a saccharide feed;

f) subjecting the saccharide feed from step e) to microbial fermentation using the calcium oxide from step d) as a neutralising agent, thereby obtaining an organic acid calcium salt;

g) treating the organic acid calcium salt with sulfuric acid, thereby obtaining gypsum and the organic acid;

h) optionally isolating lignin from the black liquor obtained in step c), thereby obtaining lignin and weak black liquor; and

i) returning the black liquor obtained in step c) and/or the weak black liquor obtained in step h) to the pulp mill for integration with the pulp mill chemical recovery process;

wherein steps e) and f) are performed either sequentially or simultaneously.

2. The process according to claim 1 wherein steps e) and f) are performed simultaneously.

3. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the organic acid is lactic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, itaconic acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, glycolic acid, pyruvic acid, glutamic acid, malic acid, maleic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, gluconic acid or combinations thereof.

4. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the alkaline liquor comprises pulp mill white liquor and/or soda liquor.

5. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the alkaline liquor and the sulfuric acid are at least in part derived from electrolysis of pulp mill electrostatic precipitator dust.

6. The process according to claim 5 , wherein the alkaline liquor is essentially free from sodium sulfide.

7. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the black liquor obtained in step c) is combined with pulp mill black liquor prior to isolating lignin in step h).

8. The process according to claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the gypsum obtained in step g) is returned to the pulp mill for integration with a pulp mill lime regeneration process.

9. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the lignocellulosic feedstock from step a) is subjected to an aqueous prehydrolysis step prior to step b), thereby obtaining a prehydrolysed lignocellulosic feedstock and a hemicellulose hydrolysate.

10. The process according to claim 9 , wherein a hemicellulose or a product derived from hemicellulose is isolated from the hemicellulose hydrolysate.

11. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the organic acid obtained in step g) is purified by reactive distillation with an alcohol to provide an ester, followed by hydrolysis of the ester to provide a purified organic acid.

12. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the pretreated cellulosic feed from step c) is subjected to an oxygen delignification step prior to step e).

13. The process according to claim 1 , wherein at least part of the pretreated cellulosic feed from step c) is subjected to neutralisation by addition of sulfuric acid prior to step e).

14. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the lignocellulosic feedstock is selected from the group consisting of wood, grass, bagasse, straw, plant material, paper, and combinations thereof.

15. The process according to claim 1 , wherein all filtrates and residues from the process are returned to the pulp mill and integrated with the pulp mill chemical recovery process.

16. The process according to claim 1 , wherein the pulp mill is an alkaline pulp mill.