Process for the biological production of methacrylic acid and derivatives thereof
AssigneeLucite International UK Limited
InventorsGraham Ronald EASTHAM, Gill STEPHENS, Andrew YIAKOUMETTI
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Abstract
A process of producing methacrylic acid and/or derivatives thereof including the following steps: (a) biologically converting isobutyryl-CoA into methacrylyl-CoA by the action of an oxidase; and (b) converting methacrylyl-CoA into methacrylic acid and/or derivatives thereof. The invention also extends to microorganisms adapted to conduct the steps of the process.
Claims21
1-54. (canceled)
A process of producing methacrylic acid and/or derivatives thereof comprising the following steps:
- (a) biologically converting isobutyryl-CoA into methacrylyl-CoA by action of an oxidase;
- and
- (b) converting methacrylyl-CoA into methacrylic acid and/or derivatives thereof.
A process of producing methacrylic acid comprising the following steps:
- (a) converting isobutyryl-CoA into methacrylyl-CoA;
- and
- (b) biologically converting methacrylyl-CoA into methacrylic acid by the action of a thioesterase, transferase, synthetase, and/or a phosphotransacylase and a short chain fatty acid kinase.
A method of preparing polymers or copolymers of methacrylic acid or methacrylic acid esters, comprising the steps of:
- (i) preparation of methacrylic acid and/or derivatives thereof in accordance with claim 1;
- (ii) optional esterification of the methacrylic acid prepared in (i) to produce the methacrylic acid ester;
- (iii) polymerization of the methacrylic acid and/or derivatives thereof prepared in (i) and/or, if present, the ester prepared in (ii), optionally with one or more comonomers, to produce polymers or copolymers thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.