Enhanced Ricinoleic Acid Preparation Using Lipozyme TLIM as a Novel Biocatalyst: Optimized by Response Surface Methodology

Ricinoleic acid (RA) is an important raw material for plasticizers, emulsifiers, and nanomaterials. In this work, a green and efficient method was developed for RA production. Results showed that Lipozyme TLIM can be used as a novel biocatalyst to catalyze the hydrolysis of castor oil (CO) for RA preparation. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to evaluate and optimize the effects of reaction variables on the hydrolysis of CO. Reaction conditions were optimized as follows: 41.3 degrees C, enzyme load 8.9%, 39.2 h, and 40:1 molar ratio of water to oil. Under these optimized reaction variables, the maximum hydrolysis ratio of CO (96.2 +/- 1.5%) was obtained. The effect of hydrolysis variables on the reaction was as follows: enzyme load > hydrolysis time > temperature. In conclusion, this is a green, simple, and efficient method for RA preparation and can provide a good alternative method for RA industrial production.