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Processing food waste for the production of platform chemicals 437

detergents, green solvents, biodegradable plastics, and ingredients stimulating ani-
mal and plant growth. Succinic acid can be easily converted into many chemicals,
for example, 1,4-butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, γ-butyrolactone and 2-pyrrolidone,
AA, n-methylpyrrolidone or linear aliphatic esters. The market demand for succi-
nic acid has increased in the polymer industry due to its application in production
poly(1,3 propylene succinate) obtained from its condensation reaction with 1,3
propanediol (Liu et al., 2001).
In the year 2016, Reverdia (The Netherlands) entered into a strategic partnership
with Hangzhou Xinfu Science & Technology (China) and DeZhouXinHuarun
Technology (China) for promoting the production of biosuccinate for use in
bio-based polymers/copolymers for the packaging industry and microcellular
polyurethane foams for footwear industry, respectively.

19.3.2.2 Fumaric acid

Fumaric acid, due to the presence of two acid carbonyl groups and a double bond,
acts as a multifunctional chemical platform and finds applications in diverse pro-
cesses in industries. It is used mainly as chemical feedstock for the production of
paper resins, unsaturated polyester resins (UPRs), a food acidulant, alkyd resins,
plasticizers, and miscellaneous industrial products (Das et al., 2016). The market
demand of fumaric acid is growing continuously owing to its use in the manufactur-
ing of UPR which is used in making the body panels of vehicles. The growing
demand for fumaric acid application for use in pharmaceuticals is expected to drive
global market growth. Fumaric acid is also sought as a potential substitute for syn-
thetic organic acids such as citric acid and tartaric acid for use in the food and bev-
erage industry. Global fumaric acid market demand was estimated at 225.2 kt in
2012, and it is expected to be over 300 kt in 2020 (Global Market Insights).

19.3.3 Aspartic and glutamic acids

In a report by NREL, glutamic and aspartic acids are in the list of top value-added
chemicals from biomass (Werpy and Petersen). As the amino acids have a carbox-
ylic acid group and amine functional group, they can be converted into several pro-
ducts through biological and chemical transformation reactions. Glutamic and
Aspartic acid has a high potential to be used as raw materials for the production of
chemicals because they are present in larger quantities than the other amino acids.
Glutamic and aspartic acids are nonessential; therefore, after extraction from bio-
mass without applying a chemical treatment, the remaining biomass holds applica-
tion as animal feed. According to a recent report by Grand View Research, the
global Aspartic Acid market is expected to reach USD101.0 million by 2022.
Increase in demand for aspartame as an artificial sweetener in the food and bever-
age industry will drive the global market. Aspartic acid also acts as raw material for
the production of Poly aspartic acid which is a biodegradable polymer and has the
potential to replace polyacrylic acid based products (Grand View Research, Inc.a).