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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Vladimir ZivkovicORCiD
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Natural woods are abundant and renewable biomass resources, the inherent microchannels and micropores make woods the ideal microfluidic device. In this study, a wood-biomimetic microfluidic enzymatic reactor (CALB@BW-C8) was proposed by hydrophobically functionalizing balsa wood column (BW) using octyltrimethoxysilane (C8) and immobilizing lipases for the continuous-flow catalytic synthesis of flavor esters. Results indicate that C8 modification improved the water contact angles of BW from 52.0° to 122.7°, thus providing the hydrophobic microenvironment to enhance enzyme activity and stability. When two CALB@BW-C8 reactors were connected in series, the continuous-flow conversion of hexyl hexanoate reached 91% under solvent-free conditions. Besides, the superior thermal stability, long-term reusability, broad applicability, mechanical strength and porous stability of CALB@BW-C8 also highlighted its industrial potential. Finally, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations revealed that liquid substrates could migrated through intervessel pits to achieve cross-channel mass transfer, while the vessel perforation plates further enhanced local turbulence to promote the sufficient substrate-enzyme contacted. Hence, this paper innovatively combined the natural microfluidic wood with enzymatic catalysis, to achieve the continuous and sustainable production of flavor esters
Author(s): Gao Y, Zhang Y, Zivkovic V, Liu T, Quek S-Y, Yang Q, Xu Y, Zheng M
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Bioresource Technology
Year: 2026
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 03/07/2026
Acceptance date: 02/07/2026
ISSN (print): 0960-8524
ISSN (electronic): 1873-2976
Publisher: Elsevier BV
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2026.135305
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2026.135305
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