Enzymatic catalyzed reactive dividing wall column: Experiments and model validation

Abstract

A novel process for the integration of chemical reaction and product separation is proposed: the enzymatic catalyzed reactive dividing wall column (eRDWC). The eRDWC combines the highly integrated and complex reactive dividing wall column (RDWC) with the use of a very selective enzymatic catalyst. This apparatus enables the simultaneous production and separation of up to 4 pure product streams. Comprehensive experiments with the reference system of a hexanol and butyl acetate transesterification in a DN 65 pilot scale column show the feasibility of stable steady state operations for this process. A rigorous model for the plant design of an eRDWC wall column is developed. The reaction kinetics and vapor‐liquid‐equilibria for the reference system are measured and implemented in the model. The model is successfully validated using the acquired experimental data. The application of enzymes in continuous reactive distillation processes has the potential to increase the selectivity at milder process conditions. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 2198–2211, 2017

Reactive Separations for In Situ Product Removal of Enzymatic Reactions: A Review

“…Mucor miehei lipase batch beads [71] Candida antarctica lipase batch coating [68] continuous granulate [76] beads [66] coating [66,69,70] (R/S)-2-PeOH + EtBu Candida antarctica lipase batch coating [78] beads [72] 2-PrAc + PhEt Candida antarctica lipase continuous beads [73] (R/S)-PnB + (R/S)-PMA Candida antarctica lipase continuous beads [74] HeOH + BuAc Candida antarctica lipase continuous beads [75] product removal was divided into two steps: first, to remove the accumulated lowest boiling component propanol (PrOH), and then second, to subsequently remove the second-lowest boiling component, the accumulated S-2-PeOH, residual from the kinetically resolved solution of rac-2-PeOH. The enantiomeric excess of the isolated product was approximately 90 %.…”

Model validation for enzymatic reactive distillation to produce chiral compounds

“…Therefore, one aspect of green PI is the combination of biocatalytic/enzymatic reaction and simultaneous separation to shift the chemical reaction equilibrium to the side of the reaction product. This interesting concept of biocatalytic in situ separation was recently demonstrated successfully by enzymatic reactive distillation (ERD) …”

“…This promising technology offers a new option for the sustainable and efficient production of enantiomerically pure components. To increase the reliability of the process, the feasibility and accurate modeling of the ERD process need to be demonstrated including an evaluation of the ERD performance for industrial use . The crucial steps towards evaluation have been described by Wierschem et al .…”

“…This interesting concept of biocatalytic in situ separation was recently demonstrated successfully by enzymatic reactive distillation (ERD). [11][12][13][14][15] This promising technology offers a new option for the sustainable and efficient production of enantiomerically pure components. To increase the reliability of the process, the feasibility and This work Previous work Figure 1.…”

“…accurate modeling of the ERD process need to be demonstrated including an evaluation of the ERD performance for industrial use. 13,14 The crucial steps towards evaluation have been described by Wierschem et al 13 by means of an integrated approach (Fig. 1).…”