Esterification Of Oleic Acid And Bioalcohols Using Immobilized Lipase

摘要

Biodiesel has been receiving significant attention as a renewable and nonpolluting fuel. In this study, oleic acid and bioalcohols (ethanol and butanol) were used as substrates for biodiesel production. The reactions were performed in a solvent-free system using immobilized lipase (Novozym 435) as biocatalyst in a batch esterification process. The optimal conditions were 45°C, oleic acid to alcohol molar ratio of 1:2, Novozym 435 loading at 5% based on oleic acid weight and 250 rpm, in which the free fatty acid (FFA) conversion at 91.0% was obtained after 12 hours of the reaction.