No abstract

As lactose is an increasing by‐product of dairy industry, the selective conversion to prebiotic galacto‐oligosaccharides (GOSs) by the enzyme β‐galactosidase represents a highly attractive value creation. The synthesis of GOSs is characterized by an equilibrium‐limited reaction, which can be overcome by a coupling with an enzymatic reduction of the side product glucose to achieve an increase in product yield. Furthermore, the effect of substrate substitution based on sweet whey and the impact of whey‐dominating salt ions was examined, leading to a further process intensification of GOS synthesis.

The galacto-oligosaccharide synthesis by b-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans is described mathematically using three kinetic models of different complexity -a simple power law approach, an extended Michaelis Menten kinetics and, in particular, an advanced, innovative mechanistic kinetic model for biocatalysis. Based on a detailed experimental study, a comprehensive reaction network is identified, and a reliable database provided. The evaluation of the kinetic models studied is performed by the Akaike information criterion, which allows the assessment of the model accuracy taking into account complexity and transferability.