Butanol is an important bulk chemical for the synthesis of a variety of chemical products and an efficient biofuel with properties clearly superior to ethanol such as lower enthalpy of vaporization, lower solubility of water, less corrosiveness, and a much higher energy density (Dürre [2008]).
The oxygen based production of ethylene oxide, one of the most important bulk chemicals, is considered as an example.
The application of the framework is illustrated through a case study related to the production of di-methyl carbonate, which is an important bulk chemical due to its multiplicity of uses.
Among syngas transformation routes, the direct synthesis of aromatics, which are among the most important bulk chemicals, is less successful because of the limited selectivity and poor catalyst stability.
Propylene oxide (PO) is an important bulk chemical used for synthesis of many value-added products.
This novel process demonstrates the great potential for intensification of nitric acid manufacture into miniaturized plants and is considered to be particularly attractive for on-site production of this important bulk chemical.
Biological processes are eco-friendly and sustainable alternatives to conventional chemical processes for production of several industrially important bulk chemicals like succinic acid, lactic acid, 1, 3-propanediol, 1, 4-butanediol, etc. (Biebl et al. 1998; Chotani et al. 2000; Song and Lee 2006).
Perhaps more important, the bulk of American grain sold for domestic and international use goes into animal feed, and thus far few farmers or big companies have opposed feeding biotech grain to livestock.
As collaboration and networking in biomedical research are increasingly important, the bulk of the FP7 will go toward collaborative research in the EU and beyond through a variety of funding schemes, including collaborative projects (between member states), coordination/support actions, and joint technology initiatives [32], [33].
This is important because the bulk of the evidence from laboratory studies is consistent with a more important role for COX-2 in prostatic carcinogenesis [7], [43].
