Loss of substrate, pyruvate, a limitation for enzymatic batch production of (R)-phenylacetylcarbinol (PAC), resulted from two phenomena: temperature dependent non-enzymatic concentration decrease due to the cofactor Mg2+ and formation of by-products, acetaldehyde and acetoin, by pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC). In the absence of enzyme, pyruvate stabilization was achieved by lowering the Mg2+ concentration from 20 to 0.5 mM. With 0.5 mM Mg2+ Rhizopus javanicus and Candida utilis PDC produced similar levels of PAC ( 49 and 51 g l(-1), respectively) in 21 h at 6degreesC; however C. utilis PDC formed less by-product from pyruvate and was more stable during biotransformation. The process enhancements regarding Mg2+ concentration and source of PDC resulted in an increase of molar yield (PAC/consumed pyruvate) from 59% (R. javanicus PDC, 20 mM Mg2+) to 74% (R. javanicus PDC, 0.5 mM Mg2+) to 89% (C. utilis PDC, 0.5 mM Mg2+).