(238c) Production of Bioderived Acetaminophen

Acetaminophen is the #1 over the counter pain relief medication with a value of $670 million in 2023, representing ~150,000 metric tons. Driven by the aging of the global population, the demand for acetaminophen is projected to grow 4% annually over the next ten year. Currently acetaminophen is produced from petrochemically derived phenol through the nitrophenol or chlorophenol routes to p-aminophenol (PAP) before being acetylated. We have developed a new route to produce acetaminophen from bioderived p-hydroxybenzoic acid (pHBA). Our key step involves a continuous Hofmann rearrangement of p-hydroxybenzamide to PAP. Finding abundant renewable sources for common commodity chemicals and pharmaceuticals is one of the great challenges of the day. Potential biological sources of pHBA are Salicaceae trees (e.g., poplar, willow, aspen, and cottonwood) and Arecaceae trees (e.g., oil palm and date palms), both of which can have pHBA accounting for up to 3wt% of their woody biomass. In this presentation we will discuss the advancements in the scaling up the process and the assessment of the viability of producing bioderived pHBA at an industrially relevant scale.