Continuous Fatty Acid Decarboxylation using an Immobilized Photodecarboxylase in a Membrane Reactor

Abstract

AbstractThe realm of photobiocatalytic alkane biofuel synthesis has burgeoned recently; however, the current dearth of well‐established and scalable production methodologies in this domain remains conspicuous. In this investigation, we engineered a modified form of membrane‐associated fatty acid photodecarboxylase sourced from Micractinium conductrix (McFAP). This endeavour resulted in creating an innovative assembled photoenzyme‐membrane (protein load 5 mg cm−2), subsequently integrated into an illuminated flow apparatus to achieve uninterrupted generation of alkane biofuels. Through batch experiments, the photoenzyme‐membrane exhibited its prowess in converting fatty acids spanning varying chain lengths (C6–C18). Following this, the membrane‐flow mesoscale reactor attained a maximum space‐time yield of 1.2 mmol L−1 h−1 (C8) and demonstrated commendable catalytic proficiency across eight consecutive cycles, culminating in a cumulative runtime of eight hours. These findings collectively underscored the photoenzyme‐membrane's capability to facilitate the biotransformation of diverse fatty acids, furnishing valuable benchmarks for the conversion of biomass via photobiocatalysis.