Optimization of pure linoleic acid 13-HPX production by enzymatic reaction pathway: Unravelling oxygen transfer role

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2022-02, Vol.430, p.132978, Article 132978
• Main Authors: Crouvisier Urion, Kevin, Garcia, Rebeca, Boussard, Aline, Degrand, Laure, Guiga, Wafa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 13-Hydroperoxide; Engineering Sciences; Linoleic acid; Lipoxygenase; Oxidation; Oxygen transfer; Reactor sizing
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2021.132978

[Display omitted] •Relevant determination of SBLOX1 kinetic parameters taking into account kLa.•Sufficient oxygen supply leads to pure LA 13-HPX production.•The use of kLa and Damköhler number is essential to optimize SBLOX-1 reactor.•The enzymatic reactor allows a green production of 13-HPX with high added-value. This work is, to our knowledge, the first to have investigated the role of gas–liquid oxygen transfer on the determination of the kinetic parameters of an oxidase, and on oxidase reactor sizing for pure hydroperoxides production using soybean lipoxygenase-1. The addition of a small amount of ethanol (2% v/v) was found suitable for simple linoleic acid handling and probably a better dispersion of the latter in the reaction medium. Then, the kinetic parameters of the enzyme in a pH9 buffered medium were determined and compared to the literature data. Following a simple methodology which accounts for gas–liquid oxygen transfer, the dissolved oxygen kinetics were reprocessed to correct the initial reaction rates. kLa was thus found essential to determine accurate reaction rates. The latter were found consistent with the hydroperoxide production and linoleic acid consumption rates, confirming that the data reprocessing method was necessary. This sheds new light on several literature results on lipoxygenase activity characterizations, where a discrepancy is often observed between the apparent oxygen kinetics and the hydroperoxide production rates. Based on these results and the Damköhler number (Da) in relation to oxygen uptake and transfer, a reactor sizing procedure was proposed and led to the almost full conversion of linoleic acid into pure 13-hydroperoxide.