Application of Thermodynamics to High-Pressure Liquid Reactions

Chemical and biochemical production processes are subject to constant optimization to increase efficiency and profit. Different influence factors can be used to optimize these processes. The focus of this work is laid on analyzing effects of pressure and solvent on different liquid-phase reactions theoretically and experimentally. Two different enzymatic peptide hydrolyses and an organocatalyzed Michael addition were chosen as model reactions. An activity-based approach was used in combination with the thermodynamic model Perturbed-Chain Polar Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (PCP-SAFT) in order to analyze and even predict the effects of (co-)solvent and pressure on reaction kinetics and product yield.
The results of this work show that an activity-based approach allows analyzing and actually predicting the combined effects of (co-)solvent and pressure on kinetics and yield of liquid-phase reactions and, thus, it allows for optimizing these reactions.