Continuous-flow CvFAP photodecarboxylation of palmitic acid under environmentally friendly conditions

Luiza A.D. Benincá, Alexandre S. França, Gabriela C. Brêda, Raquel A.C. Leão, Rodrigo V. Almeida, Frank Hollmann, Rodrigo O.M.A. de Souza*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)
15 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The fatty acid photodecarboxylase from Chlorella variabilis NC64A (CvFAP) promotes the elimination of CO2 from fatty acids (Cn) producing the corresponding hydrocarbon (Cn-1). Therefore, this enzyme is of great biotechnological interest since it can be used in alternative biofuel production routes matching the concept of green chemistry. However, due to its recent discovery, this reaction still requires optimizations, which was the focus of the present work together with the application of continuous flow system. The results in batch reactors showed the importance of using high power LED lamps (300 W) to reduce the reaction time for full conversion (30 min, >99%). In another approach, a continuous flow system demonstrated high potential, as it enabled full conversion with a half concentration of enzyme extract in a very short residence time of 15 min. Furthermore, the use of less expensive and sustainable light sources, not previously reported for reactions with CvFAP, were evaluated with full conversion (>99%) after 1 h for continuous flow reactions using 300 W common white LED lamp and based preliminary batch reactions investigations using direct sunlight. Thus, important advances and new perspectives for CvFAP photodecarboxylation reactions could be achieved with the present report.

Original languageEnglish
Article number112469
Number of pages5
JournalMolecular Catalysis
Volume528
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Keywords

  • Biocatalysis
  • Continuous flow
  • Green chemistry
  • Photodecarboxylation
  • Process intensification

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