Enzymatic esterification reaction in organic media with continuous water stripping: effect of water content on reactor performance and enzyme agglomeration

Abstract

A water removal system with in situ monitoring of the reaction medium turbidity was used to investigate the effect of water content on reactor performance and enzyme agglomeration. The performance of the system was tested by carrying out the lipase-catalyzed esterification of caprylic acid and n-butanol in cyclohexane. Enzyme agglomeration strongly depended on the water content in the solvent medium. By preventing agglomeration, the reactor could be operated in a continuous mode for 150 h without any loss of enzyme reactivity, whereas insufficient water stripping resulted in a gradual decrease of the conversion due to agglomeration of enzyme.