Glycolic Acid → Glyoxylic Acid

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

Into a Kontes Airlift Bioreactor was placed 400 mL of a solution of 0.75M glycolic acid, 0.86M ethylenediamine, 0.075M propionic acid (HPLC internal standard), and 0.01 mM flavin mononucleotide (pH 9.0). Wet oxygen was bubbled through the solution in the bioreactor, and a peristaltic pump was used to recirculate the oxygenated solution (at 40 mL/min) from the bioreactor through a jacketed 1-cm ID×30-cm chromatography column containing spinach glycolate oxidase (13.9 IU) and Aspergillus niger catalase (56,000 IU) co-immobilized on Eupergit C oxirane acrylic beads (21-mL fixed bed volume). The contents of the bioreactor and jacketed chromatography column were maintained at 15° C. by recirculating 50:50 ethylene glycol/water through the jacket of the reactor and column using a refrigerated bath/circulator set at 10° C. After 377 hours, the yields of glyoxylic acid, oxalic acid, and formic acid were 93%, 0%, and 0.3%, respectively, with a 94% conversion of glycolic acid. The final activities of glycolate oxidase and catalase were 48% and 69% of their initial values.

Provenance & Evidence