Electroenzymatic reactors with coenzyme regeneration: A theoretical approach

A comparison of the relative performance of production techniques using coenzyme or cofactor electrochemical regeneration demonstrates the superiority of those processes in which the enzymatic reaction and the regeneration are conducted in the same reactor as opposed to those in which the reaction and regeneration are separated. For the former type of reactor, a method of calculation is proposed. This method is based on the solution of equations which describe the phenomena in modules representing three areas: the surface of the electrode, a layer where occur simultaneously the transport of material and the enzymatic reaction, and the bulk of the solution. This method is suggested for three types of reactor: those in which an enzyme solution is held close to an electrode by a semipermeable membrane, those in which an enzyme-charged membrane is in contact with an electrode, and those in which the enzyme is in solution in the vessel into which the electrode is dipped.