Rhizomucor miehei Lipase-Immobilized Sodium Alginate Membrane Preparation and Usage in a Pervaporation Biocatalytic Membrane Reactor

In this study, Rhizomucor miehei lipase-coated alginate membrane was prepared and put in a biocatalytic membrane reactor to produce ethyl lactate from ethyl alcohol and lactic acid. Effects of the amount of coated lipase, reaction temperature and initial molar ratio on lactic acid conversion were investigated to evaluate the performance of the system. In order to compare the performance of the membrane reactor, the reaction was also carried out in a classical batch reactor by using lipase-immobilized membrane as a catalyst. The highest lactic acid conversion achieved was 0.63 in the membrane reactor at 50 degrees C, while the lactic acid conversion was 0.37 in the batch reactor under the same operating conditions. After six reaction runs, approximately 90 % of the lipase's catalytic activity was preserved in the membrane reactor.