Production of butyl-biodiesel using lipase physically-adsorbed onto electrospun polyacrylonitrile fibers

• Published in: Bioresource technology 2010-10, Vol.101 (19), p.7344-7349
• Main Authors: Sakai, Shinji, Liu, Yuping, Yamaguchi, Tetsu, Watanabe, Rie, Kawabe, Masaaki, Kawakami, Koei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acrylic Resins - chemistry; Adsorption; Biodiesel; Biofuel production; Biofuels - analysis; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Biotechnology - methods; Butanolysis; Catalysts; Conversion; Electrospinning; Energy; Enzyme Stability; Enzymes, Immobilized - metabolism; Fibers; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Industrial applications and implications. Economical aspects; Lipase; Lipase - metabolism; Outlets; Polyacrylonitriles; Pseudomonas; Pseudomonas cepacia; Temperature; Transesterification; Water - chemistry
• ISSN: 0960-8524; 1873-2976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2010.04.036

Butyl-biodiesel production using electrospun polyacrylonitrile fibers with Pseudomonas cepacia lipase immobilized through physical adsorption was studied. About 80% conversion to butyl-biodiesel was achieved after 24 h by suspending the catalyst at 2.4 mg/mL in a mixture of rapeseed oil and n-butanol at a molar ratio of 1:3, containing water at 8000 ppm at 40 °C. A further 24 h of operation resulted in 94% conversion. The initial reaction rate detected for this process was 65-fold faster than those detected for Novozym 435 on a total catalyst mass basis. The immobilized lipase continued to work as a catalyst for 27 d, within a 15% reduction in conversion yield at the outlet of the reactor compared with the average value detected during the first 3 d of operation in a continuous butyl-biodiesel production system.