Process for producing glycolic acid from formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide

A process for producing glycolic acid from formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide comprising:

• (a) providing an aqueous formaldehyde feed stream that is heated to a temperature of about 90° C. to about 150° C. for a determinable period of time;
• (b) contacting the heated aqueous feed stream of (a) with hydrogen cyanide at a temperature suitable for glycolonitrile synthesis, whereby glycolonitrile is produced;
• (c) contacting the glycolonitrile of step (b) in a suitable aqueous reaction mixture with an enzyme catalyst comprising a polypeptide having nitrilase activity, said polypeptide having the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:30, whereby glycolic acid is produced;
• and
• (d) recovering the glycolic acid produced in (c) by ion exchange;
• wherein said glycolic acid has a purity of at least 99.9%.