Integrated system for biocatalytically producing and recovering an organic substance

A method for recovering a biocatalytically produced organic substance from a reaction mixture, comprising

• providing a reaction mixture, wherein the substance is produced using a biocatalyst, which reaction mixture comprises an aqueous phase, in which the biocatalyst is dispersed or dissolved, which aqueous phase comprises a substrate for the biocatalyst, and wherein further droplets or bubbles of a fluid product recovery phase are dispersed in the continuous aqueous phase, into which droplets or bubbles produced substance migrates and wherein the product recovery phase has a lower density than the aqueous phase;
• and
• separating the product recovery phase comprising the produced substance from the aqueous phase and the biocatalyst;
• wherein the production of the organic substance and the separation of the product recovery phase are carried out in an apparatus comprising a reaction section, containing the reaction mixture wherein the substance is produced, and a separation section wherein the product recovery phase comprising the produced substance is separated from the aqueous phase,
• wherein the method comprises a simultaneous production and separation stage,
• wherein at least during said simultaneous stage,
• substrate and/or product recovery phase is fed into the reaction section continuously or intermittently,
• flow conditions in the reaction section are turbulent flow conditions,
• reaction mixture—of which mixture the product recovery phase comprises the produced substance—is fed continuously or intermittently from the reaction section into the separation section, which fed reaction mixture enters said separation section under essentially laminar flow conditions, in which separation section the product recovery phase is separated from the aqueous phase, under essentially laminar flow conditions or intermittently alternating between laminar flow conditions and no-flow conditions, wherein the reaction mixture is separated into an upper layer comprising the product recovery phase enriched with produced substance and a lower layer comprising the aqueous phase, and
• fluid product recovery phase, comprising the biocatalytically produced substance, is recovered continuously or intermittently from the separation section of the apparatus.