Enzymatic production of green epoxides from fatty acids present in soapstock in a microchannel bioreactor

Abstract

Soapstock containing high value of free unsaturated fatty acids was used for enzymatic production of natural epoxides in a solvent-free system. At a same reaction condition (36 °C, initial pH of 6.5, and H2O2/CC molar ratio of 1 for 30 min), using a microchannel bioreactor were enhanced the yield of epoxidation by 2.8 and 1.7 folds in comparison with the stirred tank operated at batch and semi-batch, respectively. Further studies were performed for optimization of the microchannel bioreactor with statistical evaluations of the operational parameters namely temperature, molar ratio of H2O2 to CC bond, and feed flow rate. Maximum epoxidation yield (85%) and specific epoxidation rate (1437.56 μmol genzyme−1 min−1) were obtained at 36 °C, H2O2/CC molar ratio of 1.61, and feed flow rate of 42 mL h−1. The produced epoxides were analyzed by FTIR, 1H NMR, and GC–MS analysis.