Feasibility of production methods for succinic acid derivatives: a marriage of renewable resources and chemical technology

Abstract Succinic acid has recently received a great deal of attention in various publications and presentations when discussing the potential of renewable resources for the production of chemical building blocks. As a starting material for a number of conversions, it leads to important derivatives for various industrial branches. In this review, many suggested/published processes are analyzed and the feasibility of the processes toward industrial use in comparison with actual production routes has been evaluated. Derivatives that have a high probability of being successfully produced from succinic acid are tetrahydrofuran, γ‐butyrolactone and butanediol, as well as various pyrrolidones. Other nitrogen‐containing succinic acid derivatives, as well as its esters and salts, have various uses and can be used for further conversions. Succinate‐based surfactants and polymers are produced in large quantities. This review also contains a short overview of chemicals that might be produced from succinic acid, but the routes are still not economically feasible at this point and are only of academic interest at the moment. © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd