Sustainable Biocatalytic Procedure for Obtaining New Branched Acid Esters
Biocatalytic synthesis of 2-ethylhexyl 2-methylhexanoate is described in this work for the first time. This branched-chain ester is suitable for use at low temperatures in numerous applications. The immobilized lipase Novozym<sup>®</sup> 435 has demonstrated its ability to catalyze the e...
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Materials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/22/6847 |
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| author | María Claudia Montiel Miguel Asensi Silvia Gimeno-Martos Fuensanta Máximo Josefa Bastida |
| author_facet | María Claudia Montiel Miguel Asensi Silvia Gimeno-Martos Fuensanta Máximo Josefa Bastida |
| author_sort | María Claudia Montiel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Biocatalytic synthesis of 2-ethylhexyl 2-methylhexanoate is described in this work for the first time. This branched-chain ester is suitable for use at low temperatures in numerous applications. The immobilized lipase Novozym<sup>®</sup> 435 has demonstrated its ability to catalyze the ester synthesis from 2-ethylhexanol and 2-methylhexanoic acid in a solvent-free medium. The high reaction times that are required result in a loss of alcohol by evaporation, which must be compensated for with an excess of this substrate if high conversions are to be achieved. Therefore, two strategies are established: 70 °C with a 10% excess of alcohol, which requires a longer operating time and provides conversions of 97%, and 80 °C with a 20% excess of alcohol, which allows for the achievement of a 99% conversion in a shorter time. The optimal reaction conditions have been chosen based on reusability of the enzyme, process productivity, green metrics and preliminary economic study. When the synthesis is carried out under the best conditions (70 °C, 10% molar excess of alcohol and six uses of the immobilized enzyme) a productivity of 203.84 kg product × kg biocatalyst<sup>−1</sup> is attained. The biocatalytic procedure matches many of the objectives of “green chemistry” and is suitable to be scaled up and used in industrial manufacturing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:20:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d4715f3e7fc14fe9a7979c1b1495ee9c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1944 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:20:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-d4715f3e7fc14fe9a7979c1b1495ee9c2023-11-23T00:09:44ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442021-11-011422684710.3390/ma14226847Sustainable Biocatalytic Procedure for Obtaining New Branched Acid EstersMaría Claudia Montiel0Miguel Asensi1Silvia Gimeno-Martos2Fuensanta Máximo3Josefa Bastida4Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemistry, Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainChemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemistry, Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainChemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemistry, Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainChemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemistry, Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainChemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemistry, Campus Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainBiocatalytic synthesis of 2-ethylhexyl 2-methylhexanoate is described in this work for the first time. This branched-chain ester is suitable for use at low temperatures in numerous applications. The immobilized lipase Novozym<sup>®</sup> 435 has demonstrated its ability to catalyze the ester synthesis from 2-ethylhexanol and 2-methylhexanoic acid in a solvent-free medium. The high reaction times that are required result in a loss of alcohol by evaporation, which must be compensated for with an excess of this substrate if high conversions are to be achieved. Therefore, two strategies are established: 70 °C with a 10% excess of alcohol, which requires a longer operating time and provides conversions of 97%, and 80 °C with a 20% excess of alcohol, which allows for the achievement of a 99% conversion in a shorter time. The optimal reaction conditions have been chosen based on reusability of the enzyme, process productivity, green metrics and preliminary economic study. When the synthesis is carried out under the best conditions (70 °C, 10% molar excess of alcohol and six uses of the immobilized enzyme) a productivity of 203.84 kg product × kg biocatalyst<sup>−1</sup> is attained. The biocatalytic procedure matches many of the objectives of “green chemistry” and is suitable to be scaled up and used in industrial manufacturing.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/22/6847biocatalysisbranched-chain acid estersolvent-freeprocess productivitygreen metricseconomic assessment |
| spellingShingle | María Claudia Montiel Miguel Asensi Silvia Gimeno-Martos Fuensanta Máximo Josefa Bastida Sustainable Biocatalytic Procedure for Obtaining New Branched Acid Esters Materials biocatalysis branched-chain acid ester solvent-free process productivity green metrics economic assessment |
| title | Sustainable Biocatalytic Procedure for Obtaining New Branched Acid Esters |
| title_full | Sustainable Biocatalytic Procedure for Obtaining New Branched Acid Esters |
| title_fullStr | Sustainable Biocatalytic Procedure for Obtaining New Branched Acid Esters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustainable Biocatalytic Procedure for Obtaining New Branched Acid Esters |
| title_short | Sustainable Biocatalytic Procedure for Obtaining New Branched Acid Esters |
| title_sort | sustainable biocatalytic procedure for obtaining new branched acid esters |
| topic | biocatalysis branched-chain acid ester solvent-free process productivity green metrics economic assessment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/22/6847 |
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