Enzymatic starch hydrolysis performance of Taylor-Couette flow reactor with ribbed inner cylinder

Abstract

In this study, a Taylor-Couette flow reactor (TCFR) was applied to starch hydrolysis accompanied with an intricate viscosity change during reaction for the purpose of process intensification. In industries, several reactors are used in starch hydrolysis, namely gelatinization, liquefaction, and saccharification. It was possible to conduct a continuous starch hydrolysis with one TCFR. In addition, a sufficient reducing sugar yield was obtained in the Taylor vortex flow regime. However, the yield decreased at a higher effective Reynolds number (Reeff) due to axial dispersion through a bypass flow generated by the wavy motion of Taylor cells. In order to immobilize Taylor vortex flow at this condition, a ribbed inner cylinder was employed which suppressed axial dispersion at the higher Reeff. As a result, a higher reducing sugar yield was successfully obtained than that by using a standard cylinder, demonstrating that the optimization of TCFR geometry has the potential for process intensification.