Countercurrently Operated Reactive Extractor with an Additively Manufactured Enzyme Carrier Structure

Journal
Organic process research & development  
Volume
24
Issue
9
Start Page
1621
End Page
1628
Citation
Organic Process Research and Development 9 (24): 1621-1628 (2020-09-18)
Publisher DOI
10.1021/acs.oprd.0c00205
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85090574723
Precisely designed structures inserted in hybrid reactors can be used to control multiphase hydrodynamics and to act as a catalyst carrier simultaneously. While numerical simulations with computational fluid dynamics have limitations regarding the complex interactions in multiphase flows, performing experiments using rapid prototyping (RP) offers the possibility of a fast fabrication and verification of tailor-made structures for specific flow characteristics, efficient mass transport, and high conversion rates. In the presented work, the development of a countercurrently operated additively manufactured reactor for the decarboxylation of ferulic acid to 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (MVP) along in situ extraction with n-heptane is shown. Here, the use and optimization of periodic open-cell structures (POCSs) as a carrier for the enzyme phenolic acid decarboxylase and a distributor for the extraction phase are targeted. By RP of transparent structures and their examination concerning the induced flow characteristics of colored heptane, a structure could be optimized for the specific reaction system. The additive manufacturing of POCSs and their application in a hybrid countercurrently operated reactor enabled the conversion of FA and a low concentration of the competitively inhibiting product MVP in the reaction phase via efficient in situ extraction via the dispersed heptane phase.
Subjects
additively manufactured enzyme carriers
biocatalysis
in situ product removal (ISPR)
periodic open-cell structures (POCS)
rapid prototyping
DDC Class
600: Technology