Effect of Various Factors on the Operational Stability of Immobilized Cells for Acrylamide Production in a Packed Bed Reactor

The effect of concentrations of phosphate buffer and acrylonitrile, pH, and various salts on the operational stability of the immobilized cells of Brevibacterium CH2 in a packed bed reactor were investigated. The effects of salts and carriers on the swelling of the immobilized beads during hydrolysis in a columnreactor were also investigated. Immobilization of the cells in Ba-alginate was more desirable than those in polyacrylamide and Ca-alinate for the swelling of the immobilized beads and the desired quality of the acrylamide produced. High quality acrylamide was produced using the Ba-alginate beads in a recycle fed-batch reactor without using an isotonic substrate. The conversion yield was nearly 100％, including a trace amount of acrylic acid produced as a by-product.