Energy Efficient Biocatalytic Alternatives for the Chemical Industry

This project will fund preliminary experimental and assessment activities on Enzyme Activation for Nonaqueous Media. The objectives are geared toward the generation of industrially relevant biocatalyst preparations that are highly active, stable, and reusable in organic solvents. Prior work identified a technique (i.e., salt-activation) that results in dramatically activated enzyme preparations for use in organic media. It is now proposed that salt-activated enzyme preparations formulated for optimal function in organic solvents are compared to their native enzyme counterparts in aqueous solutions. These improved biocatalyst formulations will be employed in a select number of industrially relevant reactions to identify top candidates for direct commercial comparison. These reactions include oxidation (e.g., hydroxylation and phenolic coupling) and acyl transfer. Furthermore, other transformations of interest to DOE and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries may be pursued through consultation with DOE and industrial contacts. Finally, a more complete comparison of a salt-activated enzyme preparation to its non-enzymatic counterpart will be performed. This comparison will include kinetic and long-term stability studies and relevant economic/process analysis. This Statement of Work is a preliminary effort for one year which, if successful will require further research and development in targeted areas with industrial partner. ORNL will focus on the assessment while Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of California, Berkeley will provide the experimental tests under subcontract.