Evaluation of process integration for the intensification of a biotechnological process

Abstract

Abstract Process intensification is a well-known and established method to improve ecological and economic efficiency of large-scale chemical processes. Process intensification in form of integrating an in-situ product or intermediate removal can also improve processes. In this study the effects of integrating an intermediate separation in form of an extraction centrifuge and a product separation in form of a pre-purification into a multi-enzyme cascade as well as the potential for further process integration in form of a reactive extraction centrifuge are analyzed for a biotechnological process. In order to evaluate the application of process integration, different process configurations are compared regarding to the efficiency using a model-based approach. Although the highly integrated process leads to lower space-time yields in some cases, an operating window can be identified in which the space-time yield is significantly higher compared to a sequential process. In order to distinguish both cases and thus choose a suitable operating point simulative studies are required. Moreover, a potential for further integration can be identified for the reference process studied in this work.