Lipase-catalyzed transesterification to remove saturated MAG from biodiesel

Saturated MAG (SMG) are known to be present in FAME intended to be used as biodiesel. These SMG can strongly affect the properties of biofuels such as the cloud point (CP), and they have been implicated in engine failure due to filter plugging. It is shown here that lipase G from Penicillium camemberti can be efficiently used for the transesterification of SMG to fatty acid methyl ester and glycerol even in the presence of the bulk biodiesel. Thus, in samples of commercial biodiesel to which glycerol monostearate (GMS) and glycerol monopalmitate (GMP) had been added, their levels were enzymatically reduced from 2% (w/v) to 0.22% (w/v) for GMP and 0.14% (w/v) for GMS as confirmed by GC-MS analysis. Practical applications: SMG present in biodiesel can have a pronounced negative effect on the CP, and/or filterability and in-field performance of the fuel. The lipase-catalyzed transesterification shown in this paper enables a significant reduction in the amount of SMG, leading to superior biodiesel quality.