Microbial biocatalytic preparation of 2-furoic acid by oxidation of 2-furfuryl alcohol and 2-furanaldehyde with Nocardia corallina

Abstract

The preparation of 2-furoic acid via oxidation of 2-furfuryl alcohol and 2-furanaldehyde was studied by two procedures using whole cells of Nocardia corallina B-276. We describe a comparison using a batch cultivation (3-L) versus resting cells in potassium phosphate buffer (0.1 M, pH 7.0). In the 3-L bioreactor, 2-furfuryl alcohol (1.35 g/L) was biotransformed after 24 h, to the acid with 81% yield. The bioconversion of 2-furfuryl alcohol using resting cells leads to and almost quantitative yield (98%) of 2-furoic acid in 21 h. 2-furanaldehyde was also oxidized to the 2-furoic acid in 88% yield in 8 h, the ratio substrate:cells was 1:3.5 (w/w). This method was scaled up to 9 g/L of 2-furanaldehyde.