Process engineering and optimization of glycerol separation in a packed-bed reactor for enzymatic biodiesel production

A process model for efficient glycerol separation during methanolysis in an enzymatic packed-bed reactor (PBR) was developed. A theoretical glycerol removal efficiency from the reaction mixture containing over 30% methyl esters was achieved at a high flow rate of 540 ml/h. To facilitate a stable operation of the PBR system, a batch reaction prior to continuous methanolysis was conducted using oils with different acid values and immobilized lipases pretreated with methyl esters. The reaction system successfully attained the methyl ester content of over 30% along with reduced viscosity and water content. Furthermore, to obtain a high methyl ester content above 96% continuously, long-term lipase stability was confirmed by operating a bench-scale PBR system for 550 h, in which the intermediates containing methyl esters and residual glycerides were fed into the enzyme-packed columns connected in series. Therefore, the developed process model is considered useful for industrial biodiesel production.     

Enzymatic synthesis of 2-ethylhexyl esters of fatty acids by immobilized lipase from Candida sp. 99–125

The 2-ethylhexyl esters of fatty acids were synthesized by immobilized lipase from Candida sp. 99–125. The reuse stability of immobilized lipase was at least four batches. The conditions of enzymatic synthesis of 2-ethylhexyl palmitate were optimized. In the system of petroleum ether, 10% (w/w) immobilized lipase was used in the esterfication of 2-ethyl hexanol (7.8 mmol) and palmitic acid (7.8 mmol) at 40 °C with silica gel as the water absorbent. The esterification degree was 91% under these conditions. The purity of 2-ethylhexyl palmitate was 98% after purification consisting washing by water and evaporation to remove the organic solvent.     

Optimization of whole cell-catalyzed methanolysis of soybean oil for biodiesel production using response surface methodology

Utilizing whole cell biocatalyst instead of free or immobilized enzyme is a potential way to reduce the cost of catalyst in lipase-catalyzed biodiesel production. Rhizopus oryzae (R. oryzae) IFO4697 whole cell immobilized within biomass support particles (BSPs) was used for the methanolysis of soybean oil for biodiesel production in this paper. tert-Butanol was demonstrated to be an ideal reaction medium, in which the negative effects caused by substrate methanol could be eliminated effectively. A central composite design was adopted to study the effect of tert-butanol quantity, methanol quantity, water content and dry biomass of the immobilized cell on biodiesel (methyl ester) yield. Each factor was studied in five levels. Using response surface methodology, a quadratic polynomial equation was obtained for methyl ester yield by multiple regression analysis. Biodiesel yield of 72% could be obtained under the optimal conditions and further verification experiments confirmed the validity of the predicted model.     

Candidasp．99-125脂肪酶催化猪油酸解合成1，3-二油酸-2-棕榈酸甘油三酯

人乳脂是一种在甘油骨架Sn-2位上富含棕榈酸（C16：0）的结构酯。经分析可知,猪油中棕榈酸主要分布在甘油酯的Sn-2位,可作为制备1,3-二油酸-2-棕榈酸甘油三酯（OPO）的原料。以Candidasp．99—125脂肪酶作催化剂,以猪油和油酸为原料,通过正交试验对无溶剂体系中酸解合成OPO的工艺条件进行研究,得到最适反应条件：猪油与油酸的质量比为1：2．0,酶用量为总底物质量的10％,反应温度40℃,反应时间4h。在该反应条件下,经酸解合成的产物三甘酯中,Sn-2C16：0的含量大于70％,占总脂肪酸中棕榈酸含量的93％以上,并合有43％以上的OPO。     

Novozym 435 for production of biodiesel from unrefined palm oil: Comparison of methanolysis methods

Biodiesel (BD) is commonly produced from refined vegetable oils by alkali-catalyzed methanolysis. Unrefined vegetable oils are economically attractive but not suitable for alkali catalysis because of their high content of free fatty acids (FFAs). Novozym 435 (immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B), which accepts both FFA and oil as substrates, was, therefore, employed to convert unrefined palm oil to BD. Three different methanolysis methods, namely, t-butanol mediated system (method-1), LiCl solution based controlled release system for methanol (method-2) and solvent-free system with three successive additions of methanol (method-3), were compared. The optimal methanol to oil molar ratios in the method-1, -2 and -3 are 6:1, 3:1 and 3:1, respectively. BD yield at an optimal methanol concentration reaches 91–92% after 10, 20 and 24 h in the method-1, -2 and -3, respectively. BD yield remains the same over five repeated cycles in the method-1, while it drops to 68 and 71% by the fifth cycle in the method-2 and -3, respectively. The results show that the method-1 is the most effective for production of BD from a low cost feedstock like unrefined palm oil.     

Perspectives for biotechnological production of biodiesel and impacts

In recent years, biological ways for biodiesel production have drawn an increasing attention and compared to chemical approaches, lipase-mediated alcoholysis for biodiesel production has many advantages. Currently, there are extensive reports about enzyme-mediated alcoholysis for biodiesel production, and based on the application forms of biocatalyst, the related research can be classified into immobilized lipase, whole cell catalyst, and liquid lipase-mediated alcoholysis for biodiesel production, respectively. This mini-review is focusing on the study of the aforementioned three forms of biocatalyst for biodiesel production, as well as its impacts and prospects.     

Lipase-catalyzed transesterification of rapeseed oils for biodiesel production with a novel organic solvent as the reaction medium

tert-Butanol, as a novel reaction medium, has been adopted for lipase-catalyzed transesterification of rapeseed oil for biodiesel production, with which both the negative effects caused by excessive methanol and by-product glycerol could be eliminated. Combined use of Lipozyme TL IM and Novozym 435 was proposed further to catalyze the methanolysis and the highest biodiesel yield of 95% could be achieved under the optimum conditions (tert-butanol/oil volume ratio 1:1; methanol/oil molar ratio 4:1; 3% Lipozyme TL IM and 1% Novozym 435 based on the oil weight; temperature 35 °C; 130 rpm, 12 h). There was no obvious loss in lipase activity even after being repeatedly used for 200 cycles with tert-butanol as the reaction medium. Furthermore, waste oil was also explored for biodiesel production and it has been found that lipase also showed good stability in this novel system.     

Enzymatic conversion of sunflower oil to biodiesel in a solvent-free system: Process optimization and the immobilized system stability

The feasibility of using the commercial immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica (Novozyme 435) to synthesize biodiesel from sunflower oil in a solvent-free system has been proved. Using methanol as an acyl acceptor and the response surface methodology as an optimization technique, the optimal conditions for the transesterification has been found to be: 45 ^oC, 3% of enzyme based on oil weight, 3:1 methanol to oil molar ratio and with no added water in the system. Under these conditions, >99% of oil conversion to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) has been achieved after 50 h of reaction, but the activity of the immobilized lipase decreased markedly over the course of repeated runs. In order to improve the enzyme stability, several alternative acyl acceptors have been tested for biodiesel production under solvent-free conditions. The use of methyl acetate seems to be of great interest, resulting in high FAME yield (95.65%) and increasing the half-life of the immobilized lipase by about 20.1 times as compared to methanol. The reaction has also been verified in the industrially feasible reaction system including both a batch stirred tank reactor and a packed bed reactor. Although satisfactory performance in the batch stirred tank reactor has been achieved, the kinetics in a packed bed reactor system seems to have a slightly better profile (93.6 ± 3.75% FAME yield after 8–10 h), corresponding to the volumetric productivity of 48.5 g/(dm³ h). The packed bed reactor has operated for up to 72 h with almost no loss in productivity, implying that the proposed process and the immobilized system could provide a promising solution for the biodiesel synthesis at the industrial scale.     

Use of mono- and diacylglycerol lipase as immobilized fungal whole cells to convert residual partial glycerides enzymatically into fatty acid methyl esters

The accumulation of partial glycerides such as monoglyceride (MG) and diglyceride (DG) is one of the rate-limiting steps in plant oil methanolysis catalyzed by Rhizopus oryzae producing triacylglycerol lipase. To convert partial glycerides efficiently into their corresponding methyl esters (MEs), we attempted to use a mono- and diacylglycerol lipase (mdlB) derived from Aspergillus oryzae. By considering cost efficiency, R. oryzae and recombinant mdlB-producing A. oryzae were immobilized independently within polyurethane foam biomass support particles and directly utilized as a whole-cell biocatalyst. The mdlB-producing A. oryzae effectively exhibited substrate specificity toward MG and DG and was then used for the methanolysis of intermediate products (approximately 82% ME), which were produced using R. oryzae. In the presence of 5% water, the use of mdlB-producing A. oryzae resulted in less than 0.1% of MG and DG, whereas a considerable amount of triglyceride was present in the final reaction mixture. On the basis of these results, we developed a packed-bed reactor (PBR) system, which consists of the first column with R. oryzae and the second column containing both R. oryzae and mdlB-producing A. oryzae. Ten repeated-batch methanolysis cycles in the PBR maintained a high ME content of over 90% with MG and DG at 0.08–0.69 and 0.22–1.45%, respectively, indicating that the PBR system can be used for long-term repeated-batch methanolysis with partial glycerides at low levels. The proposed method is therefore effective for improving enzymatic biodiesel production.     

Conversion of acid oil by-produced in vegetable oil refining to biodiesel fuel by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase

Acid oil, which is a by-product in vegetable oil refining, mainly contains free fatty acids (FFAs) and acylglycerols, and is a candidate of materials for production of biodiesel fuel. A mixture (acid oil model) of refined FFAs and vegetable oil was recently reported to be converted to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) at >98% conversion by a two-step reaction system comprising methyl esterification of FFAs and methanolysis of acylglycerols using immobilized Candida antarctica lipase. The two-step system was thus applied to conversion of acid oil by-produced in vegetable oil refining to biodiesel fuel. Under similar conditions that were determined by using acid oil model, however, the lipase was unstable and was not durable for repeated use. The inactivation of the lipase was successfully avoided by addition of excess amounts of methanol (MeOH) in the first-step reaction, and by addition of vegetable oil and glycerol in the second-step reaction. Hence, the first-step reaction was conducted by shaking a mixture of 66 wt% acid oil (77.9 wt% FFAs, 10.8 wt% acylglycerols) and 34 wt% MeOH with 1 wt% immobilized lipase, to convert FFAs to their methyl esters. The second-step reaction was performed by shaking a mixture of 52.3 wt% dehydrated first-step product (79.7 wt% FAMEs, 9.7 wt% acylglycerols), 42.2 wt% rapeseed oil, and 5.5 wt% MeOH using 6 wt% immobilized lipase in the presence of additional 10 wt% glycerol, to convert acylglycerols to FAMEs. The resulting product was composed of 91.1 wt% FAMEs, 0.6 wt% FFAs, 0.8 wt% triacylglycerols, 2.3 wt% diacylglycerols, and 5.2 wt% other compounds. Even though each step of reaction was repeated every 24 h by transferring the immobilized lipase to the fresh substrate mixture, the composition was maintained for >100 cycles.     

Biocatalysis: Towards ever greener biodiesel production

The cost of lipases and the relatively slower reaction rate remain as the major obstacles for enzymatic production of biodiesel as opposed to the conventional chemical processes. This paper reviews the starting oils usually employed in biodiesel production, the processes for transforming them to biodiesel placing particular emphasis on enzymatic transesterification. The pros and cons of the lipase-based process, the key operational variables and the technological alternatives for attenuating lipase deactivation are also discussed. Finally, suggestions are made for future studies, paying particular attention to the use of whole cell immobilization in the production process, as this methodology may reduce both the cost of the biocatalyst and dependence on lipase manufacturers.     

Lipase-catalyzed methanolysis of palm oil in presence and absence of organic solvent for production of biodiesel

Enzymatic production of methyl esters (biodiesel) by methanolysis of palm oil in presence and absence of organic solvent was investigated using Candida antarctica lipase immobilized on acrylic resin as a biocatalyst. Although, at least molar equivalent of methanol (methanol-palm oil ratio 3:1) is required for the complete conversion of palm oil to methyl esters, lipase catalyzed methanolysis of palm oil in absence of organic solvent was poisoned by adding more than 1/3 molar equivalent of methanol. The use of polar organic solvents prevented the lipase to be poisoned in methanolysis with a molar equivalent of methanol, and tetrahydrofuran (THF) was found to be the most effective. The presence of water in methanolysis of palm oil both in presence and absence of THF inhibited the reaction rate but this inhibition was considerably low in THF containing system. The palm oil-lipase (w/w) ratio significantly influenced the activity of lipase and the optimal ratio in presence and absence of THF was 100 and 50, respectively.     

Preparation of cross-linked lipase-coated micro-crystals for biodiesel production from waste cooking oil

A dual modification procedure composed of cross-linking and protein coating with K₂SO₄ was employed to modify Geotrichum sp. lipase for catalyzing biodiesel production from waste cooking oil. Compared to single modification of protein coating with K₂SO₄, the dual modification of cross-linking and lipase coating improved catalytic properties in terms of thermostable stability, organic solvent tolerance, pH stability and operational stability in biodiesel production process, although biodiesel yield and initial reaction rate for CLPCMCs were not improved. After five successive batch reactions, CLPCMCs could still maintain 80% of relative biodiesel yield. CLPCMCs retained 64% of relative biodiesel yield after incubation in a pH range of 4-6 for 4 h, and 85% of relative biodiesel yield after incubation in a range of 45-50 °C for 4 h. CLPCMCs still maintained 83% of relative biodiesel yield after both treated in polar organic solvent and non-polar organic solvent for 4 h.     

Study on the effect of cultivation parameters and pretreatment on Rhizopus oryzae cell-catalyzed transesterification of vegetable oils for biodiesel production

Enzymatic methanolysis of vegetable oils for biodiesel production has become a hot point recently, in which study on whole cell as catalyst is an important field. In this paper, whole cell (Rhizopus oryzae IFO 4697) was adopted directly as biocatalyst for biodiesel production. Effects of carbon source on cell growth and whole cell-catalyzed methanolysis of vegetable oils for biodiesel production were studied. The results showed that different oils contained in the cultivation medium had varied effects on the whole cell-catalyzed methanolysis of oils; with some specified oil as the carbon source for cell cultivation, those cells expressed higher catalytic activity in catalyzing the transesterification of the same oil for biodiesel production. The initial reaction rate was increased notably (204%) with oil pretreatment on the cells before catalyzing the reaction, which was possibly due to the improved mass transferring of substrates. Under the optimized conditions, the maximum methyl ester yield could reach 86%.     

Improvement in lipase-catalyzed methanolysis of triacylglycerols for biodiesel production using a solvent engineering method

A solvent engineering strategy was applied to the lipase-catalyzed methanolysis of triacylglycerols for biodiesel production. The effect of different pure organic solvents and co-solvent mixtures on the methanolysis was compared. The substrate conversions in the co-solvent mixtures were all higher than those of the corresponding pure organic solvents. Further study showed that addition of co-solvent decreased the values of |log P_interface − log P_substrate| and thus led to a faster reaction. The more the values of |log P_interface − log P_substrate| decreased, the faster the reaction proceeded and the higher the conversion attained. Different co-solvent ratio was further investigated. The co-solvent mixture of 25% t-pentanol:75% isooctane (v/v) was optimal, with which both the negative effects caused by excessive methanol and by-product glycerol could be eliminated. There was no obvious loss in lipase activity even after being repeatedly used for 60 cycles (720 h) with this co-solvent mixture as reaction medium. Other lipases and lipase combinations can also catalyze methanolysis in this co-solvent mixture. Furthermore, other vegetable oils were also explored for biodiesel production in this co-solvent mixture and it had been found that this co-solvent mixture media has extensive applicability.     

A robust whole-cell biocatalyst that introduces a thermo- and solvent-tolerant lipase into Aspergillus oryzae cells: Characterization and application to enzymatic biodiesel production

To develop a robust whole-cell biocatalyst that works well at moderately high temperature (40–50 °C) with organic solvents, a thermostable lipase from Geobacillus thermocatenulatus (BTL2) was introduced into an Aspergillus oryzae whole-cell biocatalyst. The lipase-hydrolytic activity of the immobilized A. oryzae (r-BTL) was highest at 50 °C and was maintained even after an incubation of 24-h at 60 °C. In addition, r-BTL was highly tolerant to 30% (v/v) organic solvents (dimethyl carbonate, ethanol, methanol, 2-propanol or acetone). The attractive characteristics of r-BTL also worked efficiently on palm oil methanolysis, resulting in a nearly 100% conversion at elevated temperature from 40 to 50 °C. Moreover, r-BTL catalyzed methanolysis at a high methanol concentration without a significant loss of lipase activity. In particular, when 2 molar equivalents of methanol were added 2 times, a methyl ester content of more than 90% was achieved; the yield was higher than those of conventional whole-cell biocatalyst and commercial Candida antarctica lipase (Novozym 435). On the basis of the results regarding the excellent lipase characteristics and efficient biodiesel production, the developed whole-cell biocatalyst would be a promising biocatalyst in a broad range of applications including biodiesel production.     

Biotechnological production of biodiesel fuel using biocatalysed transesterification: A review

Biotechnological production of biodiesel has attracted considerable attention during the past decade compared to chemical-catalysed production since biocatalysis-mediated transesterification has many advantages. Currently, there are extensive reports on enzyme-catalysed transesterification for biodiesel production; the related research can be classified into immobilised-extracellular and immobilised-intracellular biocatalysis and this review focusses on these forms of biocatalyst for biodiesel production. The optimisation of the most important operating conditions affecting lipase-catalysed transesterification and the yield of alkyl esters, such as the type and form of lipase, the type of alcohol, the presence of organic solvents, the content of water in the oil, temperature and the presence of glycerol, are discussed. However, there is still a need to optimise lipase-catalysed transesterification and reduce the cost of lipase production before it is applied commercially. Optimisation research of lipase-catalysed transesterification could include development of new reactor systems with immobilised biocatalysts, the use of lipases tolerant to organic solvents, intracellular lipases (whole microbial cells) and genetically modified microorganisms (intelligent yeasts). Biodiesel fuel is expensive in comparison with petroleum-based fuel and 60–70% of the cost is associated with feedstock oil and enzyme. Therefore ways of reducing the cost of biodiesel with respect to enzyme and substrate oils reported in literature are also presented.     

Aspergillus sp.脂肪酶发酵条件优化及酶学性质的研究

作者为了得到一种热稳定性较好的脂肪酶新酶种,通过研究分离白极端环境的Aspergillus sp．的最佳产酶条件及其所产脂肪酶的酶学性质,得出了该菌产酶的最佳发酵条件为：以1％黄豆饼粉为氮源、0．2％玉米淀粉为碳源,1．5％橄榄油为诱导物,起始pH6．0左右。装量10mL（250mL三角瓶。摇瓶转速180r／min）、发酵时间为96h。在最佳发酵条件下可得最大发酵酶活36U/mL。Aspergillus sp．所产的脂肪酶的酶学性质是：最适pH为9．0,在pH5．0—10．0于20℃下放置24h后,残余酶活仍保持在起始酶活的90％以上;该酶的最适温度为50℃,50℃保温60min后仍保留70％以上的酶活。Aspergillus sp．所产脂肪酶的热稳定性较好。     

Efficient preparation of (R)-alpha-monobenzoyl glycerol by lipase catalyzed asymmetric esterification: optimization and operation in packed bed reactor

Optically active (R)-alpha-monobenzoyl glycerol (MBG) was synthesized by Candida antarctica lipase B (CHIRAZYME L-2) catalyzed asymmetric esterification of glycerol with benzoic anhydride in organic solvents. Various conditions, such as the type and composition of the organic solvent, water content of the system, reaction temperature, and concentrations of the substrates were systematically examined and optimized in screw-capped test tubes with respect to both the reaction rate and the enzyme selectivity. 1,4-Dioxane was found to be the best solvent and no additional water was needed for the system. The optimum temperature was around 30 degrees C, while the most suitable substrate concentrations were 100 mM each for glycerol and benzoic anhydride, respectively. However, when excessive anhydride (e.g., 200 mM) was used, the produced MBG could be further transformed into 1,3-dibenzoyl glycerol (DBG) by the same enzyme with a priority to (S)-MBG, resulting in a significant improvement of the product optical purity from ca. 50-70% e.e. Under optimal conditions (100 mM glycerol, 100-200 mM benzoic anhydride, dioxane, 25-30 degrees C), the enzymatic synthesis of (R)-MBG was successfully operated in a packed-bed reactor for about 1 week, with an average productivity of 0.79 g MBG/day/g biocatalyst in the case of continuous operation and 0.94 g MBG/day/g biocatalyst in the case of semicontinuous operation. After refinement and preferential crystallization of the crude product, (R)-MBG could be obtained in an almost optically pure form (>98% e.e.).     

间歇及连续式固定化酶反应生产生物柴油

探讨了利用本实验室自制的Candida sp99．125脂肪酶转酯化合成生物柴油的过程。在利用间歇式反应得到最佳反应条件的情况下利用固定床反应器生产生物柴油,经过初步优化的试验结果表明,在采用分级流加甲醇下,生物柴油的转化率可以达到93％左右,并且固定化酶的使用寿命超过480h。