RESUMEN
Particle size and enzyme protein loading are design parameters of enzyme immobilization affecting biocatalyst performance that can be varied within broad margins. Their effect on mass transfer limitations at different bulk penicillin G concentrations has been studied with glyoxyl agarose immobilized penicillin G acylase biocatalysts of average particle size of 5·10-5m and 10·10-4m at protein loadings from 15 to 130 mg/g gel. Internal diffusional restrictions were evaluated for such biocatalysts: Thiele modulus varied from 1.17 for the small particles at the lower protein load to 5.84 for the large particles at the higher protein load. Effectiveness factors at different bulk substrate concentrations were determined for all biocatalysts, values ranging from 0.78 for small particle size at 25 mM penicillin G to 0.15 for large particle size at 2 mM penicillin G. Enzyme protein loading had a strong impact on the effectiveness factors of immobilized penicillin G acylase, being it more pronounced in the case of large particle size biocatalysts. At conditions in which 6-aminopenicillanic acid is industrially produced, all biocatalysts tested were mass-transfer limited, being this information valuable for reactor design and performance evaluation.