Enzymatic hydrolysis in an aqueous organic two-phase system using centrifugal partition chromatography

•Biphasic hydrolysis using lipase Candida rugosa.•CPC as new reactor concept for biocatalysis.•Development of a design procedure for multi-phase reaction systems in CPC.

Multi-phase reaction systems, mostly aqueous organic systems, are used in enzyme catalysis to convert hydrophobic substrates which are almost insoluble in aqueous media. In this study, a Centrifugal Partition Chromatograph is used as a compact device for enzymatic multi-phase reaction that combines efficient substrate supply to the aqueous phase and separation of both phases in one apparatus. A process design procedure to systematically select the aqueous and organic phase to achieve stable and efficient reaction rates and operation conditions in Centrifugal Partition Chromatography for efficient mixing and separation of the phases is presented. The procedure is applied to the hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl palmitate with a lipase derived from Candida rugosa. It was found that the hydrolysis rate of 4-nitrophenyl palmitate was two times higher in Centrifugal Partition Chromatography than in comparable stirred tank reactor experiments.