Accelerating Biocatalytic Hydrogenations using the H-Cube Flow Reactor

Abstract

Translation of redox biocatalysis into a commercial H-Cube hydrogenation flow reactor was achieved using immobilized enzyme systems for biocatalytic hydrogenations. Carbon-supported enzymes for H2-driven NADH recycling and NADH-dependent C=O reductions were handled comparably to supported metal catalysts. High activity at room temperature with 2 bar H2 was attained, highlighting that biocatalytic strategies enable implementation of hydrogenation reactions under mild conditions. High conversions were achieved in short residence times (< 2 s), with high biocatalyst turnover frequencies (1,420 min-1) and space-time yields (7.9 kg L-1 h-1). These results represent the first example of direct biocatalytic hydrogenation in a commercial flow reactor.