In Situ Product Recovery of β-Ionone from a Fermentation Broth: Computational Solvent Selection and Process Design of Its Extraction and Purification

Abstract

Flavors and fragrances are important compounds used in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. They have an added value in the market when obtained through natural processes instead of synthetic routes. β-Ionone raises special interest if produced through a biotechnological process with genetically modified Sacharomyces cerevisiae, which is considered a natural production alternative. The main problem is that βionone is toxic to S. cerevisiae when its concentration increases in the fermentation broth. However, an in situ liquid−liquid extraction can alleviate the toxicity problem by removing the solute when it is produced. Thus, a screening of 6012 solvents for liquid−liquid extraction was performed by predicting the partition coefficient of β-ionone between an aqueous and an extracting organic phase using COSMO-RS. The best solvents for β-ionone extraction were selected after evaluating several parameters like solvent−water mutual solubility, solute extraction capacity, boiling temperature, thermophysical properties, and life cycle assessment of the solvent. The process was simulated and optimized in Aspen Plus V10 where in situ extraction was considered as a liquid−liquid extraction unit and the purification as two distillation towers in series. Then, a multicriteria decision-making analytical hierarchy process was performed based on the screening and simulation results with a subsequent sensitivity analysis. Finally, extracting solvents selected with the previous methodology were 2-methyl-2-butanol, 2-methyl-3-butene-2-ol, methyl isobutyl ketone, 1-pentanol, 1-octanol, myrcene, and n-decane, which were compared with the performance of dodecane, the benchmark extracting solvent used in the literature. Branched alcohols appear as a promising family of compounds for extracting β-ionone from aqueous phases.

Separation of Isoeugenol from Methylcyclohexane as a Model Mixture of Biojet Fuel Purification: Solvent Selection and Liquid–Liquid Equilibrium

“…However, if they have boiling points that are too high, they stay in nature for a long time. Thus, those two factors should be carefully analyzed, and even another methodology, such as multicriteria decision-making, could be employed . From the “problematic” solvents, it is possible to see that polyols have lower scores in health values than the rest of the solvents, are cheap and widely available, do not present reactivity problems compared with amines for the applications from this work, and a number of them are recommended according to the solvent guide analysis.…”

Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenase 1 and Its Application for the Production of C13-Apocarotenoids in Microbial Cell Factories: A Review

“…107 For example, an in situ liquid−liquid extraction is developed for the recovery of βionone in aqueous phase after identifying the best solvent via the predictive quantum chemistry-based thermodynamic tool named Conductor-like Screening Model for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS). 108 Another popular ISPR method, named organophilic pervaporation, is also applied in the biocatalytic process for the separation of natural β-ionone from βcarotene. 14 Notably, except for C13-apocarotenoids, the remaining side product, dialdehyde, may also result in cytotoxicity.…”

“…In addition, practical downstream process techniques, such as in situ product removal strategies (ISPR), can alleviate this issue and maximize the final yield . For example, an in situ liquid–liquid extraction is developed for the recovery of β-ionone in aqueous phase after identifying the best solvent via the predictive quantum chemistry-based thermodynamic tool named Conductor-like Screening Model for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) . Another popular ISPR method, named organophilic pervaporation, is also applied in the biocatalytic process for the separation of natural β-ionone from β-carotene .…”

Solvent selection based on a conceptual process design by combining cost evaluation and life cycle assessments for developing new reaction pathways

“…They combined liquid–liquid extraction estimation using a conductor-like screening model for real solvents and process simulation. 22 Zapata-Boada et al developed a methodology integrating techno-economic, environmental, and safety criteria in solvent selection for extraction processes. 23 Chen et al proposed a solvent screening methodology using the analytic hierarchy process, which combines environmental and economic indicators in a single objective function.…”