Patent Application: US-45276908-A

Abstract:
the method separates emulsions derived from whole - cell biotransformations , including stable emulsions derived from typical biocatalytic two - phase processes that result with such a biotransformation . a supercritical extraction to obtain the valuable product can follow directly , because of the use of compressed or supercritical gas as the separation agent . it is unimportant whether the valuable product is present in the aqueous or the organic phase . recycling of the organic phase is possible , since the surfactant cell components decisively responsible for the formation of the stable emulsion can be separated off via sedimentation , because of the treatment . the achieved separation remains in existence even after the gas has gassed out , so that aside from extraction , other methods for product isolation can also follow , if necessary .

Description:
in the method presented , the cell suspension from a biotransformation ( phases i , ii , and iii from fig1 ) is directly placed into a pressurized container ( fig6 ) and tempered to approximately 45 ° c . subsequently , compressed or supercritical gas , such as carbon dioxide , for example , is metered into the emulsion , using a suitable device , until the carbon dioxide proportion with reference to the total mass amounts to about 75 %. the pressure of the mixture is increased to about 115 - 120 bar , and the mixture is intensively mixed for at least two minutes . after the stirrer is shut off , the desired phase separation and cell separation occurs in the pressurized container , as shown schematically in fig3 . in this connection , phase iv represents an amount of cells separated off from the aqueous phase iii . subsequently , the system obtained can be subjected to simple separation in one or two settler units and / or the organic phase can be passed directly to a subsequent supercritical extraction with carbon dioxide , in order to obtain the actual valuable product from this phase . it was possible to observe that the phase separation is maintained even after the carbon dioxide is drained off . thus , a significantly improved and faster phase separation can be observed subsequently , even at atmospheric pressure and room temperature . the cell components ( phase i in fig1 and phase ii in fig2 ) that were previously contained in the emulsion are now situated at the phase boundary surface between the aqueous phase ( phase ii in fig1 and phase iii in fig2 ) and the organic phase ( phase i in fig2 and fig3 ) and can easily be separated off ( phase ii and , for the cells , phase iv in fig3 ). studies of the interphases between the organic phase and the aqueous phase have shown that a change can be found . thus , it can already be seen at 100 × magnification under the microscope that agglomeration of the cell components at the phase boundary surface takes place in the emulsion before the treatment with carbon dioxide . after the treatment with compressed carbon dioxide , this can no longer be seen under the microscope at the same magnification . in contrast , sharp phase boundary surfaces are present , whereby the presumable cell components are present homogeneously in the lower region of the organic phase i . by means of using compressed carbon dioxide , extraction of the valuable substance can be carried out after separation of the emulsion , insofar as the valuable substance dissolves in carbon dioxide under the given conditions . processing of the emulsion as described , with compressed or supercritical gases such as carbon dioxide , for example , can take place in one or in multiple steps . possible variants of this are outlined in fig4 to 6 . separation of the coalescence - inhibited emulsion by means of a mixer / settler unit , as shown in fig4 , is problematic in terms of regulation technology , since the filling levels and thus the location of the phase boundary surfaces must be kept constant , but it makes do with few containers . for this purpose , the reaction mixture , together with carbon dioxide , is placed into a pressurized container m 1 at elevated pressure and elevated temperature , and intensively mixed there . subsequently , the homogeneous emulsion is placed into container b 1 , where phase separation occurs while stirring slowly with the motor - operated mixer m . the phases , in each instance , can be drawn off directly afterwards , in order to subject them to further purification . simpler regulation can be implemented if one divides the phase separation once again after the mixer m , and at first separates only the organic phase with cell fragments / macromolecules from the aqueous phase with cells / biomass . subsequently , the solid components are then precipitated from the phases , in each instance , by means of sedimentation . this method is outlined in fig5 . here , the reaction mixture is placed into a pressurized container m 1 together with carbon dioxide , under elevated pressure and elevated temperature , and intensively mixed there . subsequently , the homogeneous emulsion is placed into container b 1 , where phase separation between the organic phase with cell fragments / macromolecules and the aqueous phase with cells / biomass occurs , while stirring continues . the phases , in each instance , can afterwards be transferred to the containers b 2 - b 4 . now , the solids are separated in the containers b 3 and b 4 , by means of sedimentation . aside from continuous operation in a mixer / settler unit , batch operation in a single container is also possible , in this connection , in which container the reaction mixture is first mixed for a certain period of time , while metering in compressed carbon dioxide , and after the stirrer / homogenizer m is shut off , one waits for gravimetric separation . here again , the phases , in each instance , can afterwards be drawn off directly ( see fig6 ). the reaction mixture , together with carbon dioxide , is placed into a pressurized container under elevated pressure and elevated temperature , and intensively mixed for a specific period of time . subsequently , the stirrer / homogenizer m is shut off / slowed down , so that phase separation occurs . the phases , in each instance , can afterwards be drawn off directly , in order to subject them to further purification . it is now possible to proceed further with the pure fractions obtained by means of one of the three variants . for the total process of obtaining the valuable substance , while simultaneously recovering the process substances as completely as possible , it can be practical to carry out separation of the emulsion before or after further processing , for example extraction , of the valuable product . alternatives for carrying out product processing , proceeding from biotransformation , all the way to the pure valuable product , are shown in fig7 to 9 . in this connection , the method shown in fig7 offers the advantage that the valuable product can be extracted directly from the emulsion . proceeding from the biotransformation , the emulsion is directly transferred to extraction . here , the valuable product is extracted directly , for example by means of compressed carbon dioxide , under elevated pressure and elevated temperature . by means of reducing the pressure , the valuable product precipitates and the carbon dioxide can be recycled . the remaining emulsion is subjected to phase separation as described , with compressed carbon dioxide , thereby making it possible to perform simple separation of the solid components as well as recycling of the solvent in further steps . however , the mass stream passed to extraction is large . prior separation of the aqueous phase , in which practically no valuable product at all is typically found , this mass stream can be significantly reduced , and this can lead to more efficient processing , as shown in fig8 . proceeding from the biotransformation , the emulsion is subjected to phase separation as described , whereby the aqueous phase with cells / biomass is separated off . the remaining organic phase is subjected to a further purification step ( e . g . extraction with compressed co 2 ), in which the solids contained in the organic phase are separated off by means of sedimentation . alternatively to processing methods that contain extraction , other separation methods or any desired combinations of them are also possible for isolation of the valuable product , insofar as the organic phase is present free of biological substances after phase separation with compressed carbon dioxide . the most varied methods are suitable for this , such as chromatography , crystallization , distillation , adsorption , absorption , membrane methods , and filtration . in general , this variant is shown in fig9 . proceeding from the biotransformation , the emulsion is subjected to the phase separation with compressed carbon dioxide as described , thereby separating off the aqueous phase with cells / biomass . the remaining organic phase is subjected to a further purification step , in which the solids contained in the organic phase are separated off by means of sedimentation . subsequently , the pure organic phase obtained in this manner is subjected to a / multiple further separation step ( s ) to obtain the valuable product . in fig1 , the extraction behavior of the emulsion when using the method according to the invention is shown as an example . the concentration , in the organic phase , of the substances indicated is plotted . it can be seen that the emulsion treated with 75 mass -% co 2 , in contrast to the original emulsion , has a significantly reduced concentration of the valuable substance styrene oxide . a two - phase system after phase separation according to the method proposed above was considered as an example . this system consisted of an aqueous phase , as well as bis - 2 ( ethylhexyl ) phthalate as the main component of the organic phase , in which not only the valuable product styrene oxide but also octane , styrene , as well as 2 - phenyl ethanol were present . both phases were analyzed by means of gas chromatography before and after treatment with carbon dioxide . the concentration of the valuable substance styrene oxide in the organic phase decreased greatly as the result of the treatment with carbon dioxide ; in the aqueous phase , styrene oxide could not be detected at all . obviously , styrene oxide was extracted into the phase rich in carbon dioxide . in fig1 , a table containing a listing of critical data of selected fluids can be seen , which fluids are used industrially for use in high - pressure method processes and can also be used in the method according to the invention . in this connection , this table is listed only as an example and does not restrict the use of other compressed or supercritical gases in the method according to the invention . r . leon , p . fernandes , h . m . pinheiro , and j . m . s . cabral , “ whole - 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