Simultaneous Enzymatic Transesterification and Esterification of an Acid Oil Using Fermented Solid as Biocatalyst

• Published in: Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society Vol. 94; no. 4; pp. 551 - 558
• Main Authors: Aguieiras, Erika C. G., Cavalcanti-Oliveira, Elisa D., de Castro, Aline M., Langone, Marta A. P., Freire, Denise M. G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acrocomia aculeata; Agriculture; Biocatalysts; Biodiesel; Biodiesel fuels; Biomaterials; Biosynthesis; Biotechnology; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Enzymes; Esterification; Ethanol; Ethyl esters; Fatty acids; Fermentation; Fermented solid; Food Science; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Lipase; Original Paper; Transesterification; Transesterification; Fermented solid; Lipase; Biodiesel; Esterification
• ISSN: 0003-021X; 1558-9331
• DOI: 10.1007/s11746-017-2964-4

This work studied the enzymatic synthesis of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) for potential use as biodiesel via simultaneous esterification and transesterification of acid oil from macaúba in a solvent-free system. A fermented and dry babassu cake with lipase activity from Rhizomucor miehei was used as biocatalyst. FAEE content above 85% was achieved after 96 h of reaction with enzyme loading of 13 U per g of oil, 120 mmol of hydrous ethanol (95% ethanol and 5% water)/20 mmol of oil (molar ratio ethanol:oil of 6:1), at 40 °C. After two consecutive enzymatic reactions, 90.8 wt% FAEE content was obtained. These results demonstrate a promising transesterification/esterification method for FAEE production from an acid and low-cost oil and the process has potential to decrease the costs of enzymatic biodiesel production.