Rewiring yeast metabolism for producing 2,3-butanediol and two downstream applications: Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and agricultural biostimulant production

•We constructed an engineered S. cerevisiae strain for efficient 2,3-BDO production.•Redox imbalance was relieved by employing the Pyruvate-Malate cycle.•109.9 g/L of 2,3-BDO with a productivity of 1.0 g/L/h was produced without ethanol and glycerol.•TEA and LCA demonstrated that bio-based MEK production can be economical and sustainable.•Yeast 2,3-BDO fermentation broth can induce drought tolerance in Arabidopsis plants.