Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download
ePaper created 2016-03-17, 15:06:18 | version 1.45.01
101 Fabian Haitz M. Sc. Phone +49 711 970-4213 fabian.haitz@igb.fraunhofer.de Dr.-Ing. Susanne Zibek Phone +49 711 970-4167 susanne.zibek@igb.fraunhofer.de Contact Epoxides from plant-based oils and waste products The utili ation of specific en ymes for manufacturing epo ides from oils was also pursued within the project. Epoxides pos- sess a sterically strained reaction group that can be linked to other molecules through ring-opening polymerization reactions (ROP). Epoxides are normally constituted from hydroperoxides under extreme chemical conditions. In con- trast, epoxidation of oils using enzymes offers an avenue of producing a functional monomer from renewable natural resources as well as from waste streams with the help of a lipase under gentle conditions. In addition, the renewable raw material does not compete for agricultural land with the production of foodstuffs. A process was developed in the BioConSepT project that employs immobilized lipases for manufacturing epoxides. This results in lower effort and expense in separating the epoxide reaction products and in the reusability of the en- zyme. Fraunhofer IGB optimized the process at the 10-liter scale, carried out dimensional analyses for understanding the mechanisms of the process, implemented a 100-liter scale-up in the pilot plant at Fraunhofer CBP, and evaluated the results. The process was carried out five times in a row at repeated epoxide yields of over 80 percent while re-using the same en- zyme charge, demonstrating the recyclability of the enzyme. The resultant epoxide was separated by chemistry companies, refined, and tested for use as a softening agent in P 1 Structural comparison of petroleum-based terephthalic acid with FDCA manufactured using renewable raw materials. 2 Schematic representation of a stirred reaction vessel that can be scaled thanks to its standardized geometric relationships. 3 Sequence from lab scale to 100-liter stirred vessel. 4 Fractions of vegetable oils not used in the food industry as sources for biobased monomers. Funding The research project “BioConSepT” has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development, and demonstration under grant agreement no 289194. Further information and project partners www.bioconsept.eu 2 43 200 mL 1 L 10 L 100 L Phone +49711970-4213 Phone +49711970-4167 243