PURPOSE: To proceed smoothly a condensation reaction by stabilizing the amount of reflux of a reaction liquor through change in reaction pressure and by rapidly discharging byproducts from the reaction system without biocatalyst deactivation.
CONSTITUTION: First, a reaction solvent higher in boiling point than byproducts is mixed with feedstocks and a biocatalyst, and a reaction vessel 1 is charged with the resultant mixture via a line 27 and a reaction is conducted under boiling at a temperature lower than the deactivation temperature of the biocatalyst. Secondly, the steam generated is partially condensed by a condenser 2, the resultant condensate as the reaction solvent is refluxed via a storage tank 3 to the reaction vessel 1, and the uncondensed steam is condensed by a condenser 4 and discharged out of the system. Finally, the reflux amount of the reaction solvent is detected using a flowmeter 1 and when the amount of reflux falls off a specified range, the reaction pressure is kept lower than a specified level to restore the amount of reflux within the specified range.
MORI TAKAO
YAMAGUCHI MASAYOSHI
