Enzymatic peroxycarboxylic acid formation in a hollow-fibre membrane reactor: kinetics and mass transfer

Abstract Peroxycarboxylic acids were produced enzymatically in a hollow-fibre membrane reactor, using R. javanicus and C. antarctica lipase as the biocatalysts. The peroxycarboxylic acids are commercially used to synthesize epoxides from unsaturated olefins. Here, oleic acid was converted to 9,10-epoxy stearic acid. A mass-transfer model, similar to heterogeneous catalysis was applied to the enzymatic reaction in a membrane reactor. The model enables the evaluation of the most important factors limiting the conversion rate in the reactor and the effect of the membrane material on mass transfer. It was found that the conversion is diffusion limited at a high concentration of the organic substrate. To illustrate the versatility of the model, it was applied to two situations performed under completely different circumstances.