Mathematical modelling and simulation of a recycle dialysis membrane reactor in a reversed micellar system

A mathematical framework was developed for the evaluation of a recycle dialysis membrane reactor (RDMR). The lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of olive oil in an AOT-iso-octane reversed micellar system was employed as a model. Three specific operational strategies have been considered, namely batch, fed-batch, and fed-batch--bleed. Simulation shows the conversion of substrate to be strongly dependent on efficient use of the substrate, since the permeability coefficients of both substrate and product are quite similar. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the influences of various parameters (membrane area, substrate feed rate, solvent bleed rate and permeability) on the performance of the reactor in different modes of operation. The analyses presented are useful to assist the optimization of the operational strategy used for the RDMR system.