Immobilization ofPseudomonas fluorescenslipase on hydrophobic supports and application in biodiesel synthesis by transesterification of vegetable oils in solvent-free systems

• DOI: 10.1007/s10295-015-1586-9
• Publication Date: 2015-01-27T10:42:37Z
• Authors: Lionete N Lima; Gladson C Oliveira; Mayerlenis J Rojas; Heizir F Castro; Patrícia C M Da Rós; Adriano A Mendes; Raquel L C Giordano; Paulo W Tardioli
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; Esterification; Ethanol; Hydrolysis; Temperature; Lipase; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Enzymes, Immobilized; Pseudomonas fluorescens; Silicon Dioxide; 01 natural sciences; Soybean Oil; Biofuels; Biocatalysis; Solvents; Plant Oils; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions

AbstractThis work describes the preparation of biocatalysts for ethanolysis of soybean and babassu oils in solvent-free systems. Polystyrene, Amberlite (XAD-7HP), and octyl-silica were tested as supports for the immobilization of Pseudomonas fluorescens lipase (PFL). The use of octyl-silica resulted in a biocatalyst with high values of hydrolytic activity (650.0 ± 15.5 IU/g), immobilization yield (91.3 ± 0.3 %), and recovered activity (82.1 ± 1.5 %). PFL immobilized on octyl-silica was around 12-fold more stable than soluble PFL, at 45 °C and pH 8.0, in the presence of ethanol at 36 % (v/v). The biocatalyst provided high vegetable oil transesterification yields of around 97.5 % after 24 h of reaction using babassu oil and around 80 % after 48 h of reaction using soybean oil. The PFL-octyl-silica biocatalyst retained around 90 % of its initial activity after five cycles of transesterification of soybean oil. Octyl-silica is a promising support that can be used to immobilize PFL for subsequent application in biodiesel synthesis.