Enzymatic Disulfide Reduction for Mercaptan Production
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing mercaptans, such as methyl mercaptan, face challenges including the need for methanol, hydrogen sulfide synthesis, high temperatures, and the generation of unwanted by-products, making them economically and industrially inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A process involving enzymatic catalysis using a mixture of disulphides, amino acids or peptides with thiol groups, reductase enzymes, hydrogen dehydrogenase, and cofactors like NADPH to reduce disulphides into mercaptans, specifically utilizing dimethyl disulphide to produce methyl mercaptan under mild conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional methods (sulfhydration of alcohols, catalytic addition of H2S) are used to produce mercaptans, then mercaptan production is achieved, but multiple purification stages are required due to by-products like dimethyl ether, dimethyl sulfide, and water
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the problematic by-products (dimethyl ether, dimethyl sulfide, water) from the reaction system by using a selective enzymatic catalyst that only promotes the desired sulfhydration reaction, thereby simplifying the purification process to minimal separation stages
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the reaction parameters by using enzymatic catalysis instead of traditional chemical catalysts, operating at milder temperatures and with higher selectivity, which fundamentally alters the by-product profile and reduces purification complexity
2Ease of manufacture
If synthesis gas (CO/H2) route is used to produce methyl mercaptan, then methanol synthesis step is avoided, but high proportions of CO2, methane, dimethyl sulfide and water are produced as by-products
Solution Approach 1:
The invention converts the harmful CO2 by-product of synthesis gas routes into a beneficial outcome by using a different原料 route that inherently produces minimal CO2, while the selective enzymatic catalyst converts the synthesis gas components directly into the desired mercaptan product with high selectivity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an enzymatic catalyst as an intermediary that mediates the reaction between synthesis gas components and water, directing the reaction pathway to produce mercaptan while avoiding the formation of CO2, methane, and dimethyl sulfide by-products
3Productivity
If catalytic hydrogenolysis with transition metal sulphides is used, then dimethyl disulphide can be converted to methyl mercaptan, but relatively high temperatures of the order of 200°C are required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the mechanical/thermal energy input (high temperature heating) with a biochemical catalytic system (enzymatic catalyst) that operates at ambient or mild temperatures, substituting thermal activation with enzymatic activation energy
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the temperature parameter from high (200°C) to low (ambient or mild temperatures) by fundamentally changing the catalysis mechanism from transition metal sulfide to enzymatic catalyst, which has optimal activity at lower temperatures
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method allows for efficient production of mercaptans with reduced by-product formation, lower temperature requirements, and the ability to produce methyl mercaptan directly on-site, avoiding the challenges of traditional methods by using enzymatic reduction with glutathione and hydrogen.
Implementation Method 1
a catalytic quantity of an enzyme catalyzing the reduction of the disulphide bridge created between two equivalents of said amino acid carrying a thiol group or of said peptide containing a thiol group
Implementation Method 2
the enzyme catalyzing the reduction of the disulphide bridge created between two equivalents of said amino acid carrying a thiol group
Implementation Method 3
a catalytic quantity of an enzyme catalyzing the reduction of hydrogen
Implementation Method 4
the enzyme catalyzing the reduction of hydrogen
Implementation Method 5
a catalytic quantity of a cofactor common to the two enzymes catalyzing reduction and the dehydrogenation
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing mercaptans from disulfides and hydrogen by enzyme catalysis, and in particular for producing methylmercaptan from dimethyl disulfide and hydrogen.