Process Intensification of Nicotinic Acid Production via Enzymatic Conversion using Reactive Extraction

Nicotinic acid is widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and biochemical industries. Compared to chemical methods, enzymatic conversion of 3-cyanopyridine is an advantageous alternative for the production of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. The separation of the product is complicated, owing to its high dilution rate in fermentation broth and high cost. Reactive liquid-liquid extraction by a suitable extractant system has been found to be a promising alternative to the other conventional separation techniques. This paper gives a state-of-the-art review for manufacturing processes (chemical and enzymatic) of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. It also focuses on the most efficient separation technique, reactive extraction. Reactive extraction has advantages of less consumption of material and energy. It also avoids product inhibition and increases the separation selectivity.