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10.34 Quiz 2 November 15, 2006: P S K Moles S P R NV K S

1. An enzyme is used to convert a cheap substrate S into a delicious product P using an isomerization reaction. The reaction follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics. 2. A microreactor is constructed with the enzyme coating two flat plates, creating a thin channel for flow. Finite difference equations are written to model substrate and product concentration at grid points in the channel under steady state conditions, assuming fast equilibrium at the walls. 3. The system of equations is nonlinear due to the Michaelis-Menten term. MATLAB's pdepe function could be used to solve it numerically.

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22 views2 pages

10.34 Quiz 2 November 15, 2006: P S K Moles S P R NV K S

1. An enzyme is used to convert a cheap substrate S into a delicious product P using an isomerization reaction. The reaction follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics. 2. A microreactor is constructed with the enzyme coating two flat plates, creating a thin channel for flow. Finite difference equations are written to model substrate and product concentration at grid points in the channel under steady state conditions, assuming fast equilibrium at the walls. 3. The system of equations is nonlinear due to the Michaelis-Menten term. MATLAB's pdepe function could be used to solve it numerically.

Uploaded by

Engr Amin Baloch
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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10.

34 Quiz 2
November 15, 2006
An isomerase (an enzyme that catalyzes an isomerization reaction) is used to convert a
cheap unpalatable substrate S into its isomer, a delicious high-value product P called
fructose (used to make soft drinks and candy).
The enzyme reaction is expected to follow the Michaelis-Menton rate law:

[ P]
[S ] K
eq
R = nEVm
Km + [ S ]

[=]

moles S P
sec

Eq.(1)

where Vm and Km depend on the enzyme, and Keq is for the equilibrium S=P, and nE is
the moles of enzyme in the reactor.
Note that throughout the isomerization process [S]+[P] = constant. We therefore suggest
you use the dimensionless concentration C = [Substrate]/[Substrate]o rather than
tracking S and P separately.
1) Simulate the batch conversion of S into P by writing a couple of short Matlab
functions. Your Matlab functions should take [S]o, nE, V, Km, and Keq as inputs. Feel
free to call any built-in Matlab functions.

A microreactor for accomplishing this process continuously is constructed this way:


a coating of the isomerase is chemically bonded to two flat plates. The coating density is
10-11 moles enzyme/cm2. The two plates are then bonded to a thin spacer, to create a very
thin channel (gap between the plates Y=0.01 cm (0.005 cm from the centerline to the
wall), length X=5 cm, width of channel Z=2 cm), see figure. Inside the channel, flow can
be accurately modeled as being laminar and two-dimensional, i.e. we only need to be
concerned about gradients in x and y directions, not z, dont worry about what happens
close to z=0 or z=Z. The enzymes substrate, initial concentration [S]o is flowed at a rate
of 0.1 ml/second through the channel from x=0, and the output stream (hopefully rich in
product P) exits at x=X.
2) Write the finite difference equations that can be solved to compute Ci = C(xi,yi) at a set
of Nx*Ny mesh points (xi,yi) inside the channel when the system is running in steady
state, in the limit where the enzyme reaction is so fast that the Substrate and Product are
in equilibrium at the walls. That is, at the inlet C=1, and along the walls C = (1+Keq)-1. At
the outlet assume von Neumann boundary conditions. What is the boundary condition
along the centerline of the channel Y=0 cm? Write the special equations that apply for the
mesh points at or near the boundaries (the centerline is one of the boundaries).

Cite as: William Green, Jr., course materials for 10.34 Numerical Methods Applied to Chemical Engineering, Fall 2006.
MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

3) Is the system of equations you wrote in part 2 linear or nonlinear in the unknowns?
What Matlab function would you use to solve this system of equations?

4) It would be interesting to compute values of X,Y,Z which would maximize the yield,
i.e. the moles of P made per second, subject of course to a couple of practical constraints:
a) safety: the total pressure drop cannot exceed some maximum set by our pump
and the materials used to construct the microreactor.
b) product specifications: the [P] in the output stream must be at least [P]min
Explain whether or not one should expect this maximum productivity to occur at the
point where:
(yield)/X = 0

and

(yield)/Y = 0

and

(yield)/Z = 0

Note no computations are required, just a sentence or two.

5) In reality, the enzymatic reaction will not be fast enough to achieve perfect equilibrium
at the walls. Instead, the rate of conversion per unit area at the walls will be (with nE now
being in moles Enzyme/cm2)
(moles converted /second/ cm2) = R

Eq.(3)

Write the new boundary condition at the walls that replaces C=(1+Keq)-1 and the
corresponding finite difference equation for a point (xn,yn) near the wall.
6) If you were solving the BVP problem using non-uniform grid points, where would you
want to make the density of grid points the largest? Explain with a sentence or to why
that is the case.

Cite as: William Green, Jr., course materials for 10.34 Numerical Methods Applied to Chemical Engineering, Fall 2006.
MIT OpenCourseWare (http://ocw.mit.edu), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Downloaded on [DD Month YYYY].

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