Project description
Mimicking nature could lead to greener processes for production of novel chemicals
Conventional catalytic reactions rely heavily on harsh chemicals and extreme environments requiring energy-intensive processes. In contrast, the field of applied biocatalysis exploits environmentally friendly multi-step chemo-enzymatic processes that mimic the efficiency of cell metabolism. Chemo-enzymatic processes take advantage of nature's catalysts, enzymes. They are highly specific given the selectivity of enzymes for their substrates, and by their nature, continuous processes well-suited to modern flow chemistry and bioreactor technologies. INCITE is developing novel and modular chemo-enzymatic processes that can be flexibly combined for the industrial production of commodity and fine chemicals. Technology could lead to a greener way to make the starting materials for common products such as fertilisers and detergents.
Objective
The INCITE project aims to demonstrate novel integrated upstream and downstream processing paths involving flow chemistry and membrane technology in chemo-enzymatic processes. The modularity and flexibility of the developed processes will be showcased through two demonstration cases in real industrial settings and will be using hydrolases for the sustainable, safe and energy-efficient production of commodity and fine chiral chemicals. The first demonstration case involves esterase-catalyzed production of a chiral molecule used as starting material for the production of insecticides in the field of crop protection and public health, whereas the second demonstration case relates to solvent-free synthesis of oleochemical esters using lipase enzymes. Compared to traditional chemical synthesis processes, these chemo-enzymatic processes have clear advantages of greater efficiency, higher product quality and smaller environmental footprint. Their development to TRL7 will open up the way to their industrialization and thus lead to major positive economic and environmental impacts.
Fields of science
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
B-9940 Ertvelde
Belgium