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Degradation of pesticides in a continuous-flow two-phase microemulsion reactor
C Komives1, D Osborne, A J Russell
1Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261.
Abstract:
Biocatalytic processes in reversed micelles are limited by the need for continuous reactors in which reaction and separation are feasible. In this paper, we report the design and testing of a continuous-flow centrifugal bioreactor for the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of the common pesticide paraoxon in reverse micelles of Tween 85. In this system, organophosphorus hydrolase catalyzes hydrolysis of the pesticide in an organic-organic two-phase system. The enzyme is retained in one of the phases by encapsulation in reversed micelles, while the other phase is under a continuous flow. This liquid-liquid plug-flow reactor does not leach enzyme because the enzyme is not soluble in the flowing organic phase that contains the paraoxon.