Biodiesel fuel production from plant oil catalyzed by Rhizopus oryzae lipase in a water-containing system without an organic solvent

Citation
M. Kaieda et al., Biodiesel fuel production from plant oil catalyzed by Rhizopus oryzae lipase in a water-containing system without an organic solvent, J BIOSCI BI, 88(6), 1999, pp. 627-631
Citations number
14
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Article
Categorie Soggetti
Biotecnology & Applied Microbiology",Microbiology
Journal title
JOURNAL OF BIOSCIENCE AND BIOENGINEERING
ISSN journal
1389-1723 → ACNP
Volume
88
Issue
6
Year of publication
1999
Pages
627 - 631
Database
ISI
SICI code
1389-1723(199912)88:6<627:BFPFPO>2.0.ZU;2-K
Abstract
A new enzymatic method of synthesizing methyl esters from plant oil and met hanol in a solvent-free reaction system was developed. It is anticipated th at such plant oil methyl esters can be used as a biodiesel fuel in the futu re. Lipase from Rhizopus oryzae efficiently catalyzed the methanolysis of s oybean oil in the presence of 4-30 wt% water in the starting materials; how ever the lipase was nearly inactive in the absence of water. The methyl est er (ME) content in the reaction mixture reached 80-90 wt% by stepwise addit ions of methanol to the reaction mixture. The kinetics of the reaction appe ars to be in accordance with the successive reaction mechanism. That is, th e oil is first hydrolyzed to free fatty acids and partial glycerides, and t he fatty acids produced are then esterified with methanol. Although R. oryz ae lipase is considered to exhibit 1(3)regiospecificity, a certain amount o f 1,3-diglyceride was obtained during the methanolysis and hydrolysis of so ybean oil by R. oryzae lipase solution. Therefore, the high ME content in t he reaction mixture is probably attributable to the acyl migration from the sn-2 position to the sn-l or sn-3 position in partial glycerides.