INFORM April 2026

SUPPORTED CONTENT Massive Microfluidic Enzyme Systems for Advanced Lipid Processing Applications in Degumming, Neutralization, Washing, and Feedstock Upgrading Dr. Scott Kohl, PhD LIQUID Introduction (a)

FIBER COLUMN High Surface Area Microchanneling

SEPARATOR Continuous Two-phase Production

Edible oil and renewable fuel processors face mounting pressure to increase efficiency while reducing chemical use, wastewater, and product losses. Key pretreatment steps such as degumming, free fatty acid (FFA) removal, and washing are often limited by inefficient mixing between oil and water phases. Traditional reactors rely on high shear, excess reagents, or long residence times, creating emulsions, reducing yield and destabilizing operations. Enzymes such as phospholipases and lipases offer high selectivity under mild conditions, but industrial adoption has lagged due to high enzyme cost, operational instability and poor mass transfer. Visionary Fiber Technologies (VFT) has developed the Fiber Reactor, a proprietary massive microfluidic platform that overcomes these limitations at industrial scale. Pilot trials and industrial demonstrations have consistently shown rapid degumming, high contaminant removal, minimal emulsification, and improved enzyme reutilization. These outcomes directly address the most pressing operational bottlenecks in lipid processing. MASSIVE MICROFLUIDICS AT INDUSTRIAL SCALE The Fiber Reactor applies microfluidic principles to achieve precise microscale control over oil and aqueous or oil and solvent interfaces at true industrial throughput. Instead of relying on turbulent mixing, it creates controlled microenvironments replicated thousands of times within a single reactor. In conventional stirred

inconsistent reactions, stable emulsions, and product loss. The Fiber Reactor eliminates these constraints, allowing reactions to proceed at rates determined by enzyme activity rather than mixing limitations while hydrodynamic conditions and residence time are precisely controlled.

FIBER REACTOR ARCHITECTURE The Fiber Reactor consists of a vertically oriented column packed with densely arranged fibers (a) . Incoming immiscible phases flow as thin, repeating ribbons along the fibers, creating millions of microscale interfaces. Typical ribbon thickness of 50-100 micrometers produce exceptionally high interfacial surface area, enabling rapid, uniform reaction without the shear induced emulsification common in conventional systems. The fibers also serve as support for enzyme immobilization. Proprietary attachment methods permanently bind enzymes to fiber surfaces, retaining activity and preventing leaching. By positioning catalytic activity directly at the oil-aqueous interface, enzyme efficiency is maximized while enabling long term reuse. After reaction, immiscible

phases disengage rapidly in standard gravity settlers or horizontal separators ensuring fast and reliable separation. Key advantages: - Minimized diffusion distances - Predictable residence times - Low shear conditions that suppress emulsion formation - Enzyme reutilization and operational cost reduction. IMMOBILIZED ENZYMES AND ENZYMATIC DEGUMMING Immobilization enables long-term enzyme reuse, addressing a primary economic barrier to enzymatic processing while reducing the microfluidic array, the two phases easily separate in a horizontal tank allowing purified oil to be recovered at the top of the separator and contaminant-laden aqueous phase to be drawn out from the bottom of the separator. (a) Right - fiber column with aqueous (blue) and nonpolar (yellow) fluids mixing. Middle - phase separation of aqueous and nonpolar phases. Left - commercial scale microfluidic array. After leaving

(b)

mechanical stress and eliminating downstream recovery steps. VFT has demonstrated immobilization of multiple enzyme classes relevant to lipid processing, including phospholipases and lipases.

tanks, uneven droplet sizes and turbulent eddies limit mass transfer, leading to

(b) Phospholipase’s PLA1, PLA2, and PLC action pattern on phospholipid hydrolysis.