Enzymatic transesterification of sunflower oil in an aqueous-oil biphasic system

A biphasic oil-aqueous system for FAME production by enzymatic catalysis was studied. The transesterification of sunflower oil with methanol was catalyzed by free or immobilized lipases from Rhizomucor miehei (Palatase 20 000 L) and Humicola insolens (Lipozyme TL 100 L). The effects of protein amount, temperature, pH, and molar ratio of methanol to sunflower oil on the enzymatic reaction using free lipase were evaluated; the best results were obtained with H. insolens, at pH 5, 40 degrees C, and 36.8 mg of protein. By using this lipase immobilized in Hypol (R) 2002 (64.8 mg of protein) at a 6:1 methanol/oil molar ratio and a 2:1 volumetric oil/water phase ratio, an ester content of 96.1% and a conversion of 91.2% were achieved. The immobilized lipase could be reused, although a 30% reduction in conversion efficiency was observed after four uses.