Membrane Reactors in Bioprocessing

Supported liquid‐phase catalytic membrane reactor–separator for homogeneous catalysis

“…It can facilitate contact in multiphase reaction systems, for example, those involving species soluble in aqueous and organic phases (Matson and Quinn, 1986).…”

“…Others (for example, Hong et al, 1981) have combined the two units by incorporating an ultrafiltration membrane within a pressurized stirred-tank bioreactor. Matson and Quinn (1986) proposed a novel membrane reactor-separator for enzyme-catalyzed reactions that combines reaction, separation, and product enrichment in a single process. The SLPCMRS described here is an extension of this approach for application to homogeneous catalysis.…”

Biocatalytic membrane reactors (BMR)

“…Castor oil TG + methyloleate methyl ricinoleate + TG Matson and Quinn [116,117] have developed a laminated (multi-sandwiched) membrane reactor that enables a catalytic reaction with simultaneous product separation and recovery. Fig.…”

Synthetic membranes in biotechnology: Realities and possibilities

“…Membranes may be used in two ways to entrap the biological catalyst while the substrates and products freely diffuse through the membrane: as a barrier for retaining the soluble enzyme or as a high surface area per unit volume matrix on which the enzyme is immobilized, the combination of which is sometimes called a "reactive membrane" [77].…”

“…Clearly, any reduction of this diffusion distance by using methods such as convective flow or mixing could substantially enhance bioreactor performance and result in significantly reduced membrane requirements. Microfiltration membranes, serving as a support for enzyme attachment, are referred to as "reactive membranes" and can be operated in either diffusive or convective transport modes [77]. Although problems of loss in activity upon immobilization of the enzyme to the membrane surface and of enzyme orientation or steric hindrance have been cited as drawbacks, the capabilities of running the processes continuously, of reusing the enzyme, and of utilizing convective flow are very attractive features.…”