Reactor Design for the Novozym 435 ® -catalysed Enantioselective Esterification of 4-methyloctanoic Acid

The bench scale Novozym 435 ® catalysed esterification of 4-methyloctanoic acid with ethanol was studied at 35°C. Esterification in a batch reactor (molar ratio of 1:8 (acid:EtOH)) resulted in the isolation of the enantiomerically enriched product (ee p =81%) and substrate (ee s =93%). In order to integrate reaction and separation, liquid-vapour equilibria calculations were performed showing that an excess of ethanol results in a very low ester fraction in the vapour phase. Since this is undesirable for an integrated process of reaction and product removal, a repeated batch reaction was performed using a molar ratio of 10:1 (acid:EtOH). After six cycles (45% conversion) the ee of 4-methyloctanoic acid ethyl ester turned out to be 80%. For different E values the ee p was calculated for batch and repeated batch reactions. It was shown that in all cases the ee p was higher for the repeated batch reaction. However, the product is not enantiopure since the E value of the reaction is rather low at the low ethanol concentration used. An alternative approach would be the continuous separation of the product during the reaction. A mathematical model was developed to describe esterification in a packed bed reactor integrated with product separation. This model shows that integration of reaction and product removal in advance is not suitable either to obtain an enantiomerically pure product. Since the optimal reaction conditions (high ethanol concentration) and the optimal separation system (low ethanol concentration) do not match in this reaction, the preference is given to the batch reaction at high ethanol concentrations because in that case the highest enantioselectivity of the enzyme is obtained.     

填充床反应器中酶法连续合成甘油二酯的研究

近年来,1,3-甘油二酯(DAG)由于其广泛用途及健康作用日益受到人们的重视。报道了一种无溶剂条件下填充床反应器中连续酶促合成1,3-DAG的方法。研究了填充柱的长径比、进料体积流速、温度、底物摩尔比对酯化率和1,3-DAG产量的影响。结果表明固定化酶填充柱长径比7.8,亚油酸、甘油摩尔比1∶2 ,进料速度1.2mL/min ,65℃条件下酯化反应可实现脂肪酸酯化率、1,3-DAG纯度及生产效率的统一。填充床反应器中固定化酶连续催化酯化反应的一个主要问题即体系水分清除困难。实验研究了采用过量甘油吸附脱水的可行性,亚油酸、甘油摩尔比为1∶2时,可明显改善固定化酶的稳定性,增加LipozymeRMIM的使用寿命。连续运行10d ,残余酶活仍保持在80 %以上,而对照组则仅为52%。     

Hydrolysis of triglyceride by solid phase lipolytic enzymes of Rhizopus arrhizus in continuous reactor systems

Continuous hydrolysis of triglyceride in organic solvent systems using Rhizopus arrhizus mycelia as a source of insolubilized lipase has been studied in packed-bed and stirred-tank reactors. Typically a packed bed reactor containing 1 g of mycelia fed at 1 mL/min with a solution of 2.5% (w/v) olive oil in di-isopropyl ether gave a fatty acid yield of 45% at 30°C. The optimum water concentration was found to be 0.17% (w/v) except under conditions of high oil feed concentration and high yield where no optimum was established. No temperature optimum was observed over the range 20–55°C. Calculated activation energies of 13–20 kJ/mol, depending on temperature, were lower, while K_m(app) values of 0.1–0.3M were higher than those for hydrolysis in conventional aqueous emulsion systems. No evidence of any significant diffusional limitation, which could account for these values, was obtained. The mycelia showed a loss of activity of 0.6–1.0%h at 30°C. The packed bed proved markedly superior to the stirred tank for this system.     

Synthesis of 2-ethyl hexanol fatty acid esters in a packed bed bioreactor using a lipase immobilized on a textile membrane

An enzymatic process using a packed bed bioreactor with recirculation was developed for the scale-up synthesis of 2-ethylhexyl palmitate with a lipase from Candida sp. 99–125 immobilized on a fabric membrane by natural attachment to the membrane surface. Esterification was effectively performed by circulating the reaction mixture between a packed bed column and a substrate container. A maximum esterification yield of 98% was obtained. Adding molecular sieves and drying the immobilized lipase both decreased the water content at the reactor outlet and around the enzyme, which led to an increase in the rate of esterification. The long-term stability of the reactor was tested by continuing the reaction for 30 batches (over 300 h) with an average esterification yield of about 95%. This immobilized lipase bioreactor is scalable and is thus suitable for industrial production of 2-ethylhexyl palmitate.     

Effect of alcohol chain length on the optimum conditions for lipase-catalyzed synthesis of adipate esters

Immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B, Novozym® 435, was used in the esterification of adipic acid and alcohols with different chain lengths (C₁–C₁₈). Optimum conditions for the synthesis of adipate esters were obtained using response surface methodology (RSM) with respect to important reaction parameters including time, temperature, substrate molar ratio and amount of enzyme. Alcohol chain length specificity of the enzyme in the synthesis of adipate esters was also determined. Minimum reaction time (215 min) for achieving maximum ester yield was obtained for butyl alcohol. Methanol required an increased time (358 min) and enzyme amount (10.2%, w/w) for attaining maximum yield. The maximum required temperature and time of 65°C and 523 min, respectively, were obtained for the synthesis of dioctadecyl adipate. The results demonstrate that alcohol chain length is a determining parameter in optimization of the lipase-catalyzed synthesis of adipate esters. Reactions under optimized conditions yielded a high percentage of esterification (>97%). The optimum conditions can be used to scale up the process.     

Enzymatic synthesis of farnesyl laurate in organic solvent: initial water activity, kinetics mechanism, optimization of continuous operation using packed bed reactor and mass transfer studies

The influence of water activity and water content was investigated with farnesyl laurate synthesis catalyzed by Lipozyme RM IM. Lipozyme RM IM activity depended strongly on initial water activity value. The best results were achieved for a reaction medium with an initial water activity of 0.11 since it gives the best conversion value of 96.80%. The rate constants obtained in the kinetics study using Ping-Pong-Bi-Bi and Ordered-Bi-Bi mechanisms with dead-end complex inhibition of lauric acid were compared. The corresponding parameters were found to obey the Ordered-Bi-Bi mechanism with dead-end complex inhibition of lauric acid. Kinetic parameters were calculated based on this model as follows: V _max = 5.80 mmol l⁻¹ min⁻¹ g enzyme⁻¹, K _m,A = 0.70 mmol l⁻¹ g enzyme⁻¹, K _m,B = 115.48 mmol l⁻¹ g enzyme⁻¹, K _i = 11.25 mmol l⁻¹ g enzyme⁻¹. The optimum conditions for the esterification of farnesol with lauric acid in a continuous packed bed reactor were found as the following: 18.18 cm packed bed height and 0.9 ml/min substrate flow rate. The optimum molar conversion of lauric acid to farnesyl laurate was 98.07±0.82%. The effect of mass transfer in the packed bed reactor has also been studied using two models for cases of reaction limited and mass transfer limited. A very good agreement between the mass transfer limited model and the experimental data obtained indicating that the esterification in a packed bed reactor was mass transfer limited.     

Modeling and optimization of lipase-catalyzed esterification of policosanols with conjugated linoleic acid by response surface methodology

Abstract

The aim of this study was to model the lipase-catalyzed esterification of policosanols with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in a solvent-free system to produce wax esters which had a lower melting point than that of their corresponding policosanol forms and to optimize the reaction conditions by response surface methodology (RSM). Novozym 435 was selected as a suitable biocatalyst for the reaction. The molar ratio of substrates (policosanols to CLA) was 1:2. A well-fitting quadratic polynomial regression model for the degree of esterification (DE) of policosanols with CLA was established with regard to temperature (35–65°C), enzyme loading (1–5% of weight of total substrates), and reaction time (10–50 min). Optimal reaction conditions were 61.3°C for temperature, 3.7% for enzyme loading, and 34.1 min for reaction time, and the DE was ? 95 mol% under these conditions. The policosanols and wax esters synthesized under optimal conditions had melting points of 79°C and 57°C, respectively.     

Synthesis of monoacylglycerol containing pinolenic acid via stepwise esterification using a cold active lipase

High purity monoacylglycerol (MAG) containing pinolenic acid was synthesized via stepwise esterification of glycerol and fatty acids from pine nut oil using a cold active lipase from Penicillium camembertii as a biocatalyst. Effects of temperature, molar ratio, water content, enzyme loading, and vacuum on the synthesis of MAG by lipase‐catalyzed esterification of glycerol and fatty acid from pine nut oil were investigated. Diacylglycerol (DAG) as well as MAG increased significantly when temperature was increased from 20 to 40°C. At a molar ratio of 1:1, MAG content decreased because of the significant increase in DAG content. Water has a profound influence on both MAG and DAG content through the entire course of reaction. The reaction rate increased significantly as enzyme loading increased up to 600 units. Vacuum was an effective method to reduce DAG content. The optimum temperature, molar ratio, water content, enzyme loading, vacuum, and reaction time were 20°C, 1:5 (fatty acid to glycerol), 2%, 600 units, 5 torr, and 24 h, respectively. MAG content further increased via lipase‐catalyzed second step esterification at subzero temperature. P. camembertii lipase exhibited esterification activity up to ?30°C. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2012     

Immobilization of cyclodextrin glucanotransferase on amberlite IRA-900 for biosynthesis of transglycosylated xylitol

Cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) fromThermoanaerobacter sp. was adsorbed on the ion exchange resin Amberlite IRA-900. The optimum conditions for the immobilization of the CGTase were pH 6.0 and 600 U CGTase/g resin, and the maximum yield of immobilization was around 63% on the basis of the amount ratio of the adsorbed enzyme to the initial amount in the solution. Immobilization of CGTase shifted the optimum temperature for the enzyme to produce transglycosylated xylitol from 70°C to 90°C and improved the thermal stability of immobilized CGTase, especially after the addition of soluble starch and calcium ions. Transglycosylated xylitol was continuously produced using immobilized CGTase in the column type packed bed reactor, and the operating conditions for maximum yield were 10% (w/v) dextrin (13 of the dextrose equivalent) as the glycosyl donor, 10% (w/v) xylitol as the glycosyl acceptor, 20 mL/h of medium flow rate, and 60°C. The maximum yield of transglycosylated xylitol and productivity were 25% and 7.82 g·L⁻¹·h⁻¹, respectively. The half-life of the immobilized CGTase in a column type packed bed reactor was longer than 30 days.     

Reactor Design for the Novozym 435 ® -catalysed Enantioselective Esterification of 4-methyloctanoic Acid

The bench scale Novozym 435 ® catalysed esterification of 4-methyloctanoic acid with ethanol was studied at 35°C. Esterification in a batch reactor (molar ratio of 1:8 (acid:EtOH)) resulted in the isolation of the enantiomerically enriched product (ee p =81%) and substrate (ee s =93%). In order to integrate reaction and separation, liquid-vapour equilibria calculations were performed showing that an excess of ethanol results in a very low ester fraction in the vapour phase. Since this is undesirable for an integrated process of reaction and product removal, a repeated batch reaction was performed using a molar ratio of 10:1 (acid:EtOH). After six cycles (45% conversion) the ee of 4-methyloctanoic acid ethyl ester turned out to be 80%. For different E values the ee p was calculated for batch and repeated batch reactions. It was shown that in all cases the ee p was higher for the repeated batch reaction. However, the product is not enantiopure since the E value of the reaction is rather low at the low ethanol concentration used. An alternative approach would be the continuous separation of the product during the reaction. A mathematical model was developed to describe esterification in a packed bed reactor integrated with product separation. This model shows that integration of reaction and product removal in advance is not suitable either to obtain an enantiomerically pure product. Since the optimal reaction conditions (high ethanol concentration) and the optimal separation system (low ethanol concentration) do not match in this reaction, the preference is given to the batch reaction at high ethanol concentrations because in that case the highest enantioselectivity of the enzyme is obtained.     

Lipase-catalyzed dimethyl adipate synthesis: Response surface modeling and kinetics

Dimethyl adipate (DMA) was synthesized by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B-catalyzed esterification of adipic acid and methanol. To optimize the reaction conditions of ester production, response surface methodology was applied, and the effects of four factors namely, time, temperature, enzyme concentration, and molar ratio of substrates on product synthesis were determined. A statistical model predicted that the maximum conversion yield would be 97.6%, at the optimal conditions of 58.5°C, 54.0 mg enzyme, 358.0 min, and 12:1 molar ratio of methanol to adipic acid. The R² (0.9769) shows a high correlation between predicted and experimental values. The kinetics of the reaction was also investigated in this study. The reaction was found to obey the ping-pong bi-bi mechanism with methanol inhibition. The kinetic parameters were determined and used to simulate the experimental results. A good quality of fit was observed between the simulated and experimental initial rates.     

Enzymatic synthesis of β‐glucosylglycerol using a continuous‐flow microreactor containing thermostable β‐glycoside hydrolase CelB immobilized on coated microchannel walls

β‐Glucosylglycerol (βGG) has potential applications as a moisturizing agent in cosmetic products. A stereochemically selective method of its synthesis is kinetically controlled enzymatic transglucosylation from a suitable donor substrate to glycerol as acceptor. Here, the thermostable β‐glycosidase CelB from Pyrococcus furiosus was used to develop a microstructured immobilized enzyme reactor for production of βGG under conditions of continuous flow at 70°C. Using CelB covalently attached onto coated microchannel walls to give an effective enzyme activity of 30 U per total reactor working volume of 25 µL, substrate conversion and formation of transglucosylation product was monitored in dependence of glucosyl donor (2‐nitrophenyl‐β‐D ‐glucoside (oNPGlc), 3.0 or 15 mM; cellobiose, 250 mM), the concentration of glycerol (0.25–1.0 M), and the average residence time (0.2–90 s). Glycerol caused a concentration‐dependent decrease in the conversion of the glucosyl donor via hydrolysis and strongly suppressed participation of the substrate in the reaction as glucosyl acceptor. The yields of βGG were ≥80% and ≈60% based on oNPGlc and cellobiose converted, respectively, and maintained up to near exhaustion of substrate (≥80%), giving about 120 mM (30 g/L) of βGG from the reaction of cellobiose and 1 M glycerol. The structure of the transglucosylation products, 1‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl‐rac‐glycerol (79%) and 2‐O‐β‐D ‐glucopyranosyl‐sn‐glycerol (21%), was derived from NMR analysis of the product mixture of cellobiose conversion. The microstructured reactor showed conversion characteristics similar to those for a batchwise operated stirred reactor employing soluble CelB. The advantage of miniaturization to the microfluidic format lies in the fast characterization of full reaction time courses for a range of process conditions using only a minimum amount of enzyme. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009;103: 865–872. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Biodiesel production by enzymatic process using Jatropha oil and waste soybean oil

In this study, non-edible Jatropha oil and postcooking waste soybean oil were utilized for enzymatic biodiesel production. The process was optimized by using a statistical method. In addition, a novel continuous process using co-immobilized Rhizopus oryzae and Candida rugosa lipases was developed. The optimum conditions for the batch process were determined to be a reaction temperature of 45oC, an agitation speed of 250 rpm, 10 wt% of water, and 20% of immobilized lipases. A conversion of about 98% at 4 h could be achieved for biodiesel production using Jatropha oil, while a conversion of about 97% at 4 h was achieved from waste soybean oil. A packed bed reactor charged with co-immobilized lipases was employed for continuous biodiesel production from Jatropha and waste soybean oil. The reactor consisted of a jacketed glass column (ID 25 mm × 130 mm), in which a temperature of 45°C was maintained by water circulation. A maximum conversion of about 80% in 24 h at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/ min was achieved with the continuous process, whereas in the two-stage continuous process, a conversion of about 90% in 72 h was attained at a flow rate of 0.1 mL/min.     

ENANTIOSELECTIVE ACYLATION OF β-PHENYLALANINE ACID AND ITS DERIVATIVES CATALYZED BY PENICILLIN G ACYLASE FROM Alcaligenes faecalis

This study developed a simple, efficient method for producing racemic β-phenylalanine acid (BPA) and its derivatives via the enantioselective acylation catalyzed by the penicillin G acylase from Alcaligenes faecalis (Af-PGA). When the reaction was run at 25°C and pH 10 in an aqueous medium containing phenylacetamide and BPA in a molar ratio of 2:1, 8 U/mL enzyme and 0.1 M BPA, the maximum BPA conversion efficiency at 40 min only reached 36.1%, which, however, increased to 42.9% as the pH value and the molar ratio of phenylacetamide to BPA were elevated to 11 and 3:1, respectively. Under the relatively optimum reaction conditions, the maximum conversion efficiencies of BPA derivatives all reached about 50% in a relatively short reaction time (45–90 min). The enantiomeric excess value of product (ee_p ) and enantiomeric excess value of substrate (ee_s ) were all above 98% and 95%, respectively. These results suggest that the method established in this study is practical, effective, and environmentally benign and may be applied to industrial production of enantiomerically pure BPA and its derivatives.     

Kinetic resolution of α-lipoic acid via enzymatic differentiation of a remote stereocenter

Kinetic resolution of α-lipoic acid, a case of remote stereocenter discrimination, was accomplished using lipase from Aspergillus oryzae WZ007. Performance of this lipase was investigated for enantioselective esterification of (S)-α-lipoic acid, leaving the target product (R)-α-lipoic acid in unreacted form. The effects of chain length of alcohol, type of solvent, molar ratio of alcohol:acid, and reaction temperature were studied. The optimum reaction conditions were found to be esterification with n-octanol at 50°C in heptane with an alcohol:acid molar ratio of 5:1. The conversion rate of α-lipoic acid was 75.2%, with an enantiomeric excess of 92.5% towards unreacted substrate in a reaction time of 48 h.     

Assessment of process variables on 2-ethylhexyl palmitate production using Novozym 435 as catalyst in a solvent-free system

This work reports the optimization of 2-ethylhexyl palmitate production by esterification reaction in a solvent-free system using a commercial lipase as catalyst. For this, a sequential strategy was performed applying three experimental designs. An empirical model was built so as to assess the effects of process variables on the reaction conversion. Afterward, the operating conditions that optimized 2-ethylhexyl palmitate production were determined to be acid to alcohol molar ratio of 1:5.5, 70 °C, 150 rpm and 10.5 wt% of enzyme, leading to a reaction conversion as high as 93%. From this point, a kinetic study was carried out evaluating the influence of acid to alcohol molar ratio, enzyme concentration and temperature on product yield. Results obtained in this step allow to conclude that an excess of alcohol (acid to alcohol molar ratio of 1:6), relatively low enzyme concentration (10 wt%) and temperature of 70 °C led to nearly complete reaction conversion.     

Optimization of enantioselective resolution of racemic ibuprofen by native lipase from Aspergillus niger

Resolution of (R,S)-ibuprofen (2-(4-isobutylphenyl)propionic acid) enantiomers by esterification reaction with 1-propanol in different organic solvents was studied using native Aspergillus niger lipase. The main variables controlling the process (enzyme concentration and 1-propanol:ibuprofen molar ratio) have been optimized using response surface methodology based on a five-level, two-variable central composite rotatable design, in which the selected objective function was enantioselectivity. This enzyme preparation showed preferentially catalyzes the esterification of R(−)-ibuprofen, and under optimum conditions (7% w/v of enzyme and molar ratio of 2.41:1) the enantiomeric excess of active S(+)-ibuprofen and total conversion values were 79.1 and 48.0%, respectively, and the E-value was 32, after 168 h of reaction in isooctane.     

Optimized lipase-catalyzed synthesis of adipate ester in a solvent-free system

Immobilized Candida antarctica lipase-catalyzed esterification of adipic acid and oleyl alcohol was investigated in a solvent-free system (SFS). Optimum conditions for adipate ester synthesis in a stirred-tank reactor were determined by the response surface methodology (RSM) approach with respect to important reaction parameters including time, temperature, agitation speed, and amount of enzyme. A high conversion yield was achieved using low enzyme amounts of 2.5% w/w at 60°C, reaction time of 438 min, and agitation speed of 500 rpm. The good correlation between predicted value (96.0%) and actual value (95.5%) implies that the model derived from RSM allows better understanding of the effect of important reaction parameters on the lipase-catalyzed synthesis of adipate ester in an organic solvent-free system. Higher volumetric productivity compared to a solvent-based system was also offered by SFS. The results demonstrate that the solvent-free system is efficient for enzymatic synthesis of adipate ester.     

Lipase of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus niger</Emphasis> NCIM 1207: A Potential Biocatalyst for Synthesis of Isoamyl Acetate

Commercial lipase preparations and mycelium bound lipase from Aspergillus niger NCIM 1207 were used for esterification of acetic acid with isoamyl alcohol to obtain isoamyl acetate. The esterification reaction was carried out at 30°C in n-hexane with shaking at 120 rpm. Initial reaction rates, conversion efficiency and isoamyl acetate concentration obtained using Novozyme 435 were the highest. Mycelium bound lipase of A. niger NCIM 1207 produced maximal isoamyl acetate formation at an alcohol/acid ratio of 1.6. Acetic acid at higher concentrations than required for the critical alcohol/acid ratio lower than 1.3 and higher than 1.6 resulted in decreased yields of isoamyl acetate probably owing to lowering of micro-aqueous environmental pH around the enzyme leading to inhibition of enzyme activity. Mycelium bound A. niger lipase produced 80 g/l of isoamyl acetate within 96 h even though extremely less amount of enzyme activity was used for esterification. The presence of sodium sulphate during esterification reaction at higher substrate concentration resulted in increased conversion efficiency when we used mycelium bound enzyme preparations of A. niger NCIM 1207. This could be due to removal of excess water released during esterification reaction by sodium sulphate. High ester concentration (286.5 g/l) and conversion (73.5%) were obtained within 24 h using Novozyme 435 under these conditions.     

Nitrilase immobilization and transposition from a micro-scale batch to a continuous process increase the nicotinic acid productivity

In recent years, many biocatalytic processes have been developed for the production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals. In this context, enzyme immobilization methods have attracted attention for their advantages, such as continuous production and increased stability. Here, enzyme immobilization methods and a collection of nitrilases from biodiversity for the conversion of 3-cyanopyridine to nicotinic acid were screened. Substrate conversion over 10 conversion cycles was monitored to optimize the process. The best immobilization conditions were found with cross-linking using glutaraldehyde to modify the PMMA beads. This method showed good activity over 10 cycles in a batch reactor at 30 and 40°C. Finally, production with a new thermostable nitrilase was examined in a continuous packed bed reactor, showing very high stability of the biocatalytic process at a flow rate of 0.12 ml min^–1 and a temperature of 50°C. The complete conversion of 3-cyanopyridine was obtained over 30 days of operation. Future steps will concern reactor scale-up to increase the production rate with reasonable pressure drops.