Conversion of citric acid to itaconic acid in a novel liquid membrane bioreactor

✍ Scribed by Eyal Bressler; Sergei Braun

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 148 KB
• Volume: 75
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0268-2575
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4660(200001)75:1<66::aid-jctb176>3.0.co;2-u

✦ Synopsis

A novel liquid membrane reactor was designed to carry out the conversion of citric acid to itaconic (methylene succinic) acid by the fungus Aspergillus terreus. This bioreactor contained two supported liquid membranes (SLMs) that divided it into three compartments: (1) the feed chamber containing citric acid; (2) the reaction chamber containing the enzyme A terreus cells; and (3) the product collection chamber containing the counter-ion. The speci®city of SLMs allows the unidirectional ¯ow, of the substrate from the feed to the reaction chamber, and of the product from the reaction to the product chamber in exchange for a counter-ion, thus maintaining low concentrations of both the product and the substrate, and limiting their inhibitory effects on the conversion process. The yield of itaconic acid in the membrane bioreactor was about two orders of magnitude higher than in the batch process.