Degradation of Cellulose in a Membrane Reactor

Abstract

As described in Sect. 5.3, enzymes in membrane reactors are already being used industrially for the production of amino acids. The basic techniques involved in employing membrane reactors will be demonstrated here in the breakdown of a polysaccharide, this being a simpler process than the production of amino acids. The way in which a membrane reactor works is very easily demonstrated using the enzymatic breakdown of cellulose, a homopolymer of glucose, as an example. The low-molecular products can cross the membrane and are then estimated as reducing sugars. Enzymes and high-molecular, or even insoluble, polysaccharides are held back by the membrane.