Studies on the modeling and simulation of a sequential bienzymatic reaction system immobilized in emulsion liquid...

Experiments have been carried out to study the reaction engineering behavior of the liquid membrane-encapsulated, sequential bienzymatic reaction system, n 2n glucose. A dynamic mathematical model, free from adjustable parameters, has been developed taking into account peri-emulsion mass transfer, intra-emulsion diffusion, membrane-related mass transfer limitations and substrate and product inhibitions. A finite difference-based, user-friendly software has been developed to solve the model equations. Experimental data satisfactorily correlate with the model. While it is understood that study of sequential bienzymatic reaction system immobilized in emulsion liquid is essential for their industrial exploitation, reaction engineering behavior of such a system in presence of both substrate and product inhibitions has not yet been reported in the literature. Therefore, the model predictions of the present investigations are expected to pave the way for scale-up and design of industrial bioreactors in this field.