Sunday, April 29, 2007
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Enzymatic reaction in supercritical CO2: Effect of air partial pressure in phenol removal by tyrosinase

Priscilla F.F. Amaral1, Daniela S. Garcia2, Miguel T. Cardoso3, Marisa F. Mendes2, Maria Alice Z. Coelho1, and Fernando L.P. Pessoa1. (1) Biochemical Engineering Department, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CT, Bl. E, Cidade Universitária, 21949-900, Rio de janeiro, Brazil, (2) Chemical Engineering Department, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, CT, Bl. E, Cidade Universitária, 21949-900, Rio de janeiro, Brazil, (3) Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, Instituto Superior Técnico, Avenida Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisboa, Portugal

The use of enzymes in supercritical CO2 (SCCO2) has received extensive attention in recent years. Biocatalysts have the advantage of substrate specificity under mild reaction conditions and SCCO2 has several advantages over liquid solvents such as high solute diffusivities and low viscosity, which can accelerate mass transfer-limited enzymatic reactions. This work deals with the utilization of SCCO2 as media for the enzymatic phenol removal by tyrosinase. Since the presence of oxygen is crucial for the enzyme-catalyzed oxidation, the substantial dissolution power of SCCO2 makes it a promising media for such reactions, as it has been previously demonstrated (Amaral et al., 2004). The main objective of this work is to evaluate the utilization of SCCO2 combined with compressed air in the enzymatic phenol oxidation in comparison to the same reaction at atmospheric pressure and CO2 absence. The results show that an increase in initial air pressure raises the efficiency of the reaction.

P.F.F. AMARAL; M.F. MENDES, M.A.Z. COELHO; F.L.P. PESSOA. Utilization of Supercritical CO2 in the Phenol Removal by Tyrosinase, In: V Brazilian Meeting on Supercritical Fluids, 2004, Florianópolis. Anais, Florianópolis : VEBFS, 2004. v. 1


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