Biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas oil catalyzed by whole cells of Aureobasidium pullulans var. melanogenum SRY 14-3

摘要

The main obstacle to using lipase as a catalyst in industrial scale biodiesel production is the cost and availability of the enzyme. To overcome this obstacle, the potential of using a whole cell biocatalyst (for at least partial?in situ?lipase production) was evaluated as a means to reduce the cost of the lipase. The reaction conditions for biodiesel production via transesterification between?Jatropha curcas?(physic nut) oil and methanol when catalyzed in the presence of lipase-producing?Aureobasidium pullulans?yeast cells was investigated. The appropriate conditions for optimal biodiesel production were found to be 1:3 oil:methanol molar ratio at 30°C with constant stirring at 250 rpm. Under these conditions a maximum fatty acid methyl ester (biodiesel) production level of 71.8% was obtained after 72 h.