Enzymatic formation of propylene bromohydrin from propylene by glucose oxidase and lactoperoxidase.

The time course of the peroxidative bromination of propylene accompanied by in situ generation of hydrogen peroxide by glucose oxidase was examined to improve the productivity of propylene bromohydrin. To prevent the rapid inactivation of lactoperoxidase by excess hydrogen peroxide, it was effective to use lactoperoxidase in large excess as compared with glucose oxidase, and to raise the concentration of bromide ion. However, the rate of glucose consumption was lowered at high concentrations of bromide ion, and at higher mole fraction of oxygen as compared with propylene in the gas mixture. Therefore, it seemed that for the favorable production of bromohydrin there existed the optimal conditions for the concentration of bromide ion and for the composition of oxygen-propylene gas mixture. Such kinetic behaviors of the sequential enzymatic reactions were explained by a mechanism involving free hypobromous acid as a reactive intermediate. Furthermore, the stability of the coimmobilized enzymes with k-carrageenan gels was investigated in continuous operations. The half-life of the enzymes was ca. 60 h for the production of propylene bromohydrin.