Application of a Burkholderia cepacia lipase-immobilized silica monolith to batch and continuous biodiesel production with a stoichiometric mixture of methanol and crude Jatropha oil

Background

The enzymatic production of biodiesel through alcoholysis of triglycerides has become more attractive because it shows potential in overcoming the drawbacks of chemical processes. In this study, we investigate the production of biodiesel from crude, non-edible Jatropha oil and methanol to characterize Burkholderia cepacia lipase immobilized in an n-butyl-substituted hydrophobic silica monolith. We also evaluate the performance of a lipase-immobilized silica monolith bioreactor in the continuous production of biodiesel.

Results

The Jatropha oil used contained 18% free fatty acids, which is problematic in a base-catalyzed process. In the lipase-catalyzed reaction, the presence of free fatty acids made the reaction mixture homogeneous and allowed bioconversion to proceed to 90% biodiesel yield after a 12 hour reaction time. The optimal molar ratio of methanol to oil was 3.3 to 3.5 parts methanol to one part oil, with water content of 0.6% (w/w). Further experiments revealed that B. cepacia lipase immobilized in hydrophobic silicates was sufficiently tolerant to methanol, and glycerol adsorbed on the support disturbed the reaction to some extent in the present reaction system. The continuous production of biodiesel was performed at steady state using a lipase-immobilized silica monolith bioreactor loaded with 1.67 g of lipase. The yield of 95% was reached at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/h, although the performance of the continuous bioreactor was somewhat below that predicted from the batch reactor. The bioreactor was operated successfully for almost 50 days with 80% retention of the initial yield.

Conclusions

The presence of free fatty acids originally contained in Jatropha oil improved the reaction efficiency of the biodiesel production. A combination of B. cepacia lipase and its immobilization support, n-butyl-substituted silica monolith, was effective in the production of biodiesel. This procedure is easily applicable to the design of a continuous flow-through bioreactor system.     

Biodiesel production in packed-bed reactors using lipase-nanoparticle biocomposite

The development of appropriate reactors is crucial for the production of biodiesel. In this study, a packed-bed reactor system using lipase-Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticle biocomposite catalyst was successfully developed for biodiesel production based on soybean oil methanolysis. Emulsification before methanolysis improved the reaction rate. The lipase-nanoparticle biocomposite showed high activity and stability in the single-packed-bed reactor at an optimal flow rate (0.25 mL min(-1)). After 240 h of reaction, the conversion rate was sustained as high as 45%. The conversion rate and stability achieved using the four-packed-bed reactor were much higher than those achieved using the single-packed-bed reactor. The conversion of biodiesel was maintained at a high rate of over 88% for 192 h, and it only slightly declined to approximately 75% after 240 h of reaction. The packed-bed reactor system, therefore, has a great potential for achieving the design and operation of enzymatic biodiesel production on the industrial scale.     

Combination of two lipases more efficiently catalyzes methanolysis of soybean oil for biodiesel production in aqueous medium

A combination of two lipases was employed to catalyze methanolysis of soybean oil in aqueous medium for biodiesel production. The two lipase genes were cloned from fungal strains Rhizomucor miehei and Penicillium cyclopium, and each expressed successfully in Pichia pastoris. Activities of the 1,3-specific lipase from R. miehei (termed RML) and the non-specific mono- and diacylglycerol lipase from P. cyclopium (termed MDL) were 550 U and 1545 U per ml respectively, and enzymatic properties of these supernatant of fermentation broth (liquid lipase) were stable at 4 °C for >3 months. Under optimized conditions, the ratio of biodiesel conversion after 12 h at 30 °C, using RML alone, was 68.5%. When RML was assisted by addition of MDL, biodiesel conversion ratio was increased to >95% under the same reaction conditions. The results suggested that combination of lipases with different specificity, for enzymatic conversion of more complex lipid substrates, is a potentially useful strategy for biodiesel production.     

Enzyme catalyzed transesterification of waste cooking oil with dimethyl carbonate

The detrimental effects of waste cooking oil on sewer system attracted attention toward its proper management and reusing this waste oil for making biodiesel provides commercial and environmental advantage. In the present study, biodiesel has been successfully produced from waste cooking oil and dimethyl carbonate by transesterification, instead of the conventional alcohol. In this optimization study, the effect of various reaction conditions such as solvent, time and temperature, molar ratio of DMC to oil, enzyme loading and reusability, on the yield of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) has been studied. The Maximum conversion of FAMEs achieved was 77.87% under optimum conditions (solvent free system, reaction time of 24 h, 60 °C, molar ratio of DMC to oil 6:1, catalyst amount 10% Novozym 435 (based on the oil weight)). Moreover, there was no obvious loss in the conversion after lipases were reused for 6 batches under optimized conditions.     

Biodiesel production using a mixture of immobilizedRhizopus oryzae andCandida rugosa lipases

Biodiesel conversion from soybean oil reached a maximum of 70% at 18 h using immobilized 1,3-specificRhizopus oryzae lipase alone. Biodiesel conversion failed to reach 20% after 30 h when immobilized nonspecificCandida rugosa lipase alone was used. To increase the biodiesel production yield, a mixture of immobilized 1,3-specificR. oryzae lipase and nonspecificC. rugosa lipase was used. Using this mixture a conversion of greater than 99% at 21 h was attained. When the stability of the immobilized lipases mixture was tested, biodiesel conversion was maintained at over 80% of its original conversion after 10 cycles.     

Effects of environmental conditions and methanol feeding strategy on lipase-mediated biodiesel production using soybean oil

Methanol is a commonly used acyl acceptor for lipase-driven biodiesel production, but a high concentration of methanol is detrimental for lipase activity. To overcome this drawback, a simple fed-batch process was developed by optimization of the methanol feeding strategy and reaction conditions. For the feeding strategy, an equal volume of pure methanol was fed twice with specified time intervals into a reactor initially containing a 1:1 molar ratio of soybean oil to methanol in order to adjust the net molar ratio of the oil to methanol to 1:3. In contrast with the batch reaction, a higher agitation speed in the fed-batch process elevated the conversion yield of soybean oil to biodiesel. An agitation speed of 600 rpm and a reaction temperature of 70°C were chosen as the optimal environmental conditions. Residual lipase activities for the fed-batch operation at 40 ∼ 70°C and 600 rpm were 7.1 ± 1.4 times higher than that of the batch method at 40°C with the same agitation speed, indicating that methanol feeding can prevent significant deactivation of lipase. Finally, two times feeding methanol at 2 and 6 hr resulted in a biodiesel productivity of 10.7%/h and 94.9% final conversion yield under the optimal conditions.     

Biodiesel production from Jatropha oil by catalytic and non-catalytic approaches: an overview

Biodiesel (fatty acids alkyl esters) is a promising alternative fuel to replace petroleum-based diesel that is obtained from renewable sources such as vegetable oil, animal fat and waste cooking oil. Vegetable oils are more suitable source for biodiesel production compared to animal fats and waste cooking since they are renewable in nature. However, there is a concern that biodiesel production from vegetable oil would disturb the food market. Oil from Jatropha curcas is an acceptable choice for biodiesel production because it is non-edible and can be easily grown in a harsh environment. Moreover, alkyl esters of jatropha oil meet the standard of biodiesel in many countries. Thus, the present paper provides a review on the transesterification methods for biodiesel production using jatropha oil as feedstock.     

Transesterification of soybean oil using combusted oyster shell waste as a catalyst

Transesterification of soybean oil catalyzed by combusted oyster shell, which is waste material from shellfish farms, was examined. Powdered oyster shell combusted at a temperature above 700 degrees C, at which point the calcium carbonate of oyster shell transformed to calcium oxide, acted as a catalyst in the transesterification of soybean oil. On the basis of factorial design, the reaction conditions of catalyst concentration and reaction time were optimized in terms of the fatty acid methyl ester concentration expressed as biodiesel purity. Under the optimized reaction conditions of a catalyst concentration and reaction time of 25wt.%. and 5h, respectively, the biodiesel yield, expressed relative to the amount of soybean oil poured into the reaction vial, was more than 70% with high biodiesel purity. These results indicate oyster shell waste combusted at high temperature can be reused in biodiesel production as a catalyst.     

Exploring a new,soluble lipase for FAMEs production in water-containing systems using crude soybean oil as a feedstock

Performance of a new lipase from Novozymes (Callera Trans L) was studied for fatty acid methylesters (FAMEs) production. In order to reduce the costs of the industrial enzymatic biodiesel production process, the enzyme was used in its soluble form instead of the common immobilized preparations. Cost reduction was also achieved by using crude (non-degummed) soybean oil as a cheaper raw material. The effect of water content during Callera Trans L-catalyzed FAMEs production was explored from evaluation of free fatty acids (FFAs), tri- di or monoacylglycerides (TAGs, DAGs, MAGs) variation during 24 h reaction. An excellent 96% FAMEs release was achieved when low (3–5%) water concentrations were used in the conversion of crude soybean oil. Time course HPLC analysis of the reaction products suggests that the soluble enzyme proceeds through a mechanism of methylester formation based on a first hydrolysis step that releases FFAs, DAGs or MAGs, followed by esterification of FFAs with methanol for FAMEs production.     

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.     

Optimization of a Novel Two-step Process Comprising Re-esterification and Transesterification in a Single Reactor for Biodiesel Production Using Waste Cooking Oil

Waste cooking oil (WCO) has attracted attention as a non-edible feedstock for biodiesel. Although an alkali catalyst has several advantages over an acid catalyst in biodiesel production, biodiesel conversion from WCO is only 5.2% when using an alkali catalyst (NaOH), owing to its high free fatty acid (FFA) content of 4.2%. In this study, a novel two-step process in a single reactor, comprised of re-esterification of the FFAs with crude glycerol, using a Tin (II) chloride (SnCl₂) catalyst, and subsequent transesterification with methanol, using an alkali catalyst, was adopted, and each step was optimized. This study revealed that the FFA content after re-esterification should be approximately 1.5%, not only to save glycerol and the catalyst involved in the re-esterification, but also to achieve high biodiesel conversion during the transesterification. An alkaline catalyst was successfully used to produce biodiesel in the second step, and a 92.8% conversion to biodiesel was achieved under the optimized conditions (0.6% catalyst relative to WCO, 0.2mL-methanol/WCO, 70ºC, 3 h). Overall, this novel two-step process achieved highly enhanced biodiesel conversion (4.0% to 92.8%) with significantly reduced reaction time (12 h to 4 h) and methanol requirements (15 mL/g-WCO to 0.2 mL/g-WCO).     

Use of experimental design to investigate biodiesel production by multiple-stage Ultra-Shear reactor

This work presents biodiesel production from soybean oil and bioethanol by multiple-stage Ultra-Shear reactor (USR). The experiments were carried out in the following conditions: reaction time from 6 to 12 min; catalyst concentration from 0.5% to 1.5% by weight of soybean oil; ethanol: soybean oil molar ratio from 6:1 to 10:1. The experimental design was used to investigate the influence of process variables on the conversion in biodiesel. The best ethyl ester conversion obtained was 99.26 wt.%, with ethanol:soybean oil molar ratio of 6:1, catalyst concentration of 1.35% and with 12 min of reaction time.     

脂解麻疯树油脂肪酶产生菌的筛选鉴定及其催化特性

[目的]分离筛选具有脂解麻疯树油能力的脂肪酶产生菌株,为以麻疯树油为原料酶法生产生物柴油奠定基础.[方法]以麻疯树油为唯一碳源,从麻疯树种子粉末处理过的土壤中分离筛选出1株具有脂解疯树油能力的脂肪酶产生菌,考察该菌株及其脂肪酶对有机溶剂耐受性以及脂肪酶催化酯化和转酯反应的能力,并通过生理生化特征和16S rDNA序列分...     

Alternative Oils Tested as Feedstocks for Enzymatic FAMEs Synthesis: Toward a More Sustainable Process

Previously isolated and characterized Pseudomonas lipases were immobilized in a low‐cost MP‐1000 support by a re‐loading procedure that allowed a high activity per weight of support. Immobilized LipA, LipC, and LipCmut lipases, and commercial Novozym® 435 were tested for fatty acid methyl ester (FAMEs) synthesis using conventional and alternative feedstocks. Triolein and degummed soybean oils were used as model substrates, whereas waste cooking oil and M. circinelloides oil were assayed as alternative, low cost feedstocks, whose free fatty acid (FFA), and acylglyceride profile was characterized. The reaction conditions for FAMEs synthesis were initially established using degummed soybean oil, setting up the best water and methanol concentrations for optimum conversion. These conditions were further applied to the alternative feedstocks and the four lipases. The results revealed that Pseudomonas lipases were unable to use the FFAs, displaying a moderate FAMEs synthesis, whereas a 44% FAMEs production was obtained when M. circinelloides oil was used as a substrate in the reaction catalysed by Novozym® 435, used under the conditions established for degummed soybean oil. However, when Novozym® 435 was tested under previously described optimal conditions for this lipase, promising values of 85 and 76% FAMEs synthesis were obtained for waste cooking oil and M. circinelloides oil, respectively, which might result in promising, nonfood, alternative feedstocks for enzymatic biodiesel production. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1209–1217, 2017     

Characterization of an organic solvent-tolerant lipase from Idiomarina sp. W33 and its application for biodiesel production using Jatropha oil

A halophilic strain W33 showing lipolytic activity was isolated from the saline soil of Yuncheng Salt Lake, China. Biochemical and physiological characterization along with 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis placed the isolate in the genus Idiomarina. The extracellular lipase was purified to homogeneity by 75 % ammonium sulphate precipitation, DEAE-Sepharose anion exchange and Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration chromatography. The molecular mass of the purified lipase was estimated to be 67 kDa by SDS-PAGE. Substrate specificity test indicated that it preferred long-chain p-nitrophenyl esters. Optimal lipase activity was found to be at 60 °C, pH 7.0–9.0 and 10 % NaCl, and it was highly active and stable over broad temperature (30–90 °C), pH (7.0–11.0) and NaCl concentration (0–25 %) ranges, showing excellent thermostable, alkali-stable and halotolerant properties. Significant inhibition by diethyl pyrocarbonate and phenylarsine oxide was observed, implying histidine and cysteine residues were essential for enzyme catalysis. In addition, the lipase displayed high stability and activity in the presence of hydrophobic organic solvents with log P _ow ≥ 2.13. The free and immobilized lipases produced by Idiomarina sp. W33 were applied for biodiesel production using Jatropha oil, and about 84 and 91 % of yields were achieved, respectively. This study formed the basic trials conducted to test the feasibility of using lipases from halophile for biodiesel production.     

Lipase-catalyzed transesterification of soybean oil for biodiesel production in <Emphasis Type="Italic">tert</Emphasis>-amyl alcohol

Lipase-catalyzed transesterification of soybean oil and methanol for biodiesel production in tert-amyl alcohol was investigated. The effects of different organic medium, molar ratio of substrate, reaction temperature, agitation speed, lipase dosage and water content on the total conversion were systematically analyzed. Under the optimal conditions identified (6 mL tert-amyl alcohol, three molar ratio of methanol to oil, 2% Novozym 435 lipase based on the soybean oil weight, temperature 40°C, 2% water content based on soybean oil weight, 150 rpm and 15 h), the highest biodiesel conversion yield of 97% was obtained. With tert-amyl alcohol as the reaction medium, the negative effects caused by excessive molar ratio of methanol to oil and the by-product glycerol could be reduced. Furthermore, there was no evident loss in the lipase activity even after being repeatedly used for more than 150 runs.     

Choline-based deep eutectic solvents for enzymatic preparation of biodiesel from soybean oil

In this study, we introduced choline-based deep eutectic solvents (such as choline chloride/glycerol at 1:2 molar ratio) as inexpensive, non-toxic, biodegradable and lipase-compatible solvents for the enzymatic preparation of biodiesel from soybean oil. Through the evaluation of different eutectic solvents and different lipases, as well as the study of reaction parameters (i.e. methanol concentration, Novozym 435 loading and reaction time), we were able to achieve up to 88% triglyceride conversions in 24 h. The enzyme could be reused for at least four times without losing much activity. Our results indicate that new benign eutectic solvents can be used as substitutes of toxic and volatile organic solvents in the enzymatic production of biodiesel from real triglycerides (such as soybean oil).     

Combined immobilized lipases for effective biodiesel production from spent coffee grounds

This work describes the enzymatic transesterification of the oil extracted from SCGs for synthesis of biodiesel as a promising alternative to diesel fuels based on petroleum. Biocatalysts from various sources were tested for biodiesel synthesis using coffee oil among which CaCO₃- immobilized Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus stearothermophilus showed the highest conversion yields (61 ± 2.64% and 64.3 ± 1.53%, respectively) in 4 h. In further optimizing reaction parameters, methanol to oil molar ratio, biocatalyst quantity, water content, as well as incubation time and temperature markedly improved oil-to-biodiesel conversion up to 99.33 ± 0.57 % in a solvent free reaction after 12 h at 55 °C. A mixture of inexpensive CaCO₃-immobilized bacterial lipases at a 1:1 ratio was the best environment-friendly catalyst for biofuel synthesis as well as the ideal trade-off between conversion and cost. Obtained coffee biodiesel remained stable beyond 40 days at ambient storage conditions and its chemical characteristics were comparable to those of other known biodiesels according to the European requirements (EN14214). Collectively, SCGs, after oil extraction, could be an ideal substrate for the production of an environment-friendly biodiesel by using appropriate mixture of CaCO₃-immobilized lipases.     

Production of biodiesel using a continuous gas-liquid reactor

A novel continuous reactor process has been developed for the production of biodiesel from fats and oils. The key feature of the process is its ability to operate continuously with a high reaction rate, potentially requiring less post reaction cleaning and product/reactant separation than currently established processes. This was achieved by atomising the heated oil/fat and then spraying it into a reaction chamber filled with methanol vapor in a counter current flow arrangement. This allows the continuous separation of product and the excess methanol stream in the reactor. The overall conversion based on a single cycle of this process has been between 50% and 96% of the feed stock materials. Conversions of 94-96% were achieved while operating with 5-7 g of sodium methoxide/L of methanol at methanol flow rate of 17.2 L/h and oil flow rate of 10 L/h. Additional variations in the reactant stoichiometry (i.e. reactant flow rates), catalyst type/concentration, and reaction temperature on the overall product conversion were investigated.     

Evaluation of biodiesel production using lipase immobilized on magnetic silica nanocomposite particles of various structures

Nonporous and mesoporous silica-coated magnetite cluster nanocomposites particles were fabricated with various silica structures in order to develop a desired carrier for the lipase immobilization and subsequent biodiesel production. Lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia was covalently bound to the amino-functionalized particles using glutaraldehyde as a coupling agent. The hybrid systems that were obtained exhibited high stability and easy recovery regardless of the silica structure, following the application of an external magnetic field. The immobilized lipases were then used as the recoverable biocatalyst in a transesterification reaction to convert the soybean oil to biodiesel with methanol. Enzyme immobilization led to higher stabilities and conversion values as compared to what was obtained by the free enzyme. Furthermore, the silica structure had a significant effect on stability and catalytic performance of immobilized enzymes. In examining the reusability of the biocatalysts, the immobilized lipases still retained approximately 55% of their initial conversion capability following 5 times of reuse.