Patent ID: 6444450
Filing Date: 2002-09-03
Classification: C12P

Abstract:
A low cost method for producing polyphenols or polyaromatic amines in large scale comprising the steps ofpolymerizing a monomer or a mixture of monomers in pre-reaction components in a reactor, wherein polymerization is catalyzed by an oxidizing enzyme, yielding phenolic or aromatic amine polymers, non-consumed reactants, and non-consumed reaction medium, wherein said polymerization is of monomer or mixture of monomers and their products with functional group â€˜Yâ€™ attached to an aromatic ring with a hydroxyl group (â€”OH) for aromatic phenols or with an amine group (â€”NH2) for aromatic amines; and wherein the non-consumed reactants and non-consumed reaction medium together comprise post-reaction components; dehydrating the reaction medium; isolating the polymers from the post-reaction components; and recycling at least a portion of the post-reaction components; wherein rates of reaction are controlled for tailoring molecular weight and dispersity of the polymer by use of sampling ports for monitoring and adjusting reaction conditions, said conditions including temperature, residence time, enzyme activity, water content, and concentrations of consumable and non-consumable reactants; said polymer molecular weight being in the range of 700 to 22,000; and said polymer dispersity being close to 1.0.