Kunyima Procedure to Study Enzymatic Mechanism in Cassava Cyanide Removal: Case of Sassou Variety (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Abstract

Despite many publications on cyanide elimination in cassava by soaking in water, it still remains our preoccupation because the techniques elaborations of cyanide removal depend on a good uptake of phenomena. The traditional methods of cassava processing (steeping, peeling, drying) permit to eliminate a large proportion of cyanhydric acid, but the technology of the cassava treatment is still nowadays to be improved. That suggests the importance to better its processing and its production on the technological level by a suitable and reliable fast method (a few minutes) in view to eliminate the cyanide completely. So enzymatic kinetic study of a cassava variety, Sassou, in Democratic Republic of Congo, has been undertaken in this paper at temperature of 25°C by means of only pH-meter. The procedure needs to be called KUNYIMA Procedure for the rising scientific generations in order to remember the cute idea framed by Dr. Anaclet KUNYIMA B., Ordinary professor, university of Kinshasa Democratic Republic of Congo. It is needful to size a cassava reactor which will be a fast procedure of elimination of cyanide, economically payable and efficient with the production of cassava without cyanide according to the order of magnitude of the kinetic constants values found. In this paper cassava hydroxynitrilase has been successfully investigated and its KM has been found 1.5 x 10-2 M;  Vmax = 0.0072 Mh-1, R2 = 0.972.