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Lipase-catalyzed simultaneous biosynthesis of biodiesel and glycerol carbonate from corn oil in dimethyl carbonate

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Abstract

Biodiesel [fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs)] and glycerol carbonate were synthesized from corn oil and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) via transesterification using lipase (Novozyme 435) in solvent-free reaction in which excess DMC was used as the substrate and reaction medium. Glycerol carbonate was also simultaneously formed from DMC and glycerol. Conversions of FAMEs and glycerol carbonate were examined in batch reactions. The FAMEs and glycerol carbonate reached 94 and 62.5% from oil and DMC (molar ratio of 1:10) with 0.2% (v/v) water and 10% (w/w) Novozyme 435 (based on oil weight) at 60°C. When Novozyme 435 was washed with acetone after each reaction, more than 80% activity still remained after seven recycling.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by a grant from the Kyung Hee University in 2009 (KHU-20090750).

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Gyeonggi-do, 446-701, Republic of Korea

    Ji Young Min & Eun Yeol Lee

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  1. Ji Young Min
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  2. Eun Yeol Lee
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Correspondence to Eun Yeol Lee.

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Min, J.Y., Lee, E.Y. Lipase-catalyzed simultaneous biosynthesis of biodiesel and glycerol carbonate from corn oil in dimethyl carbonate. Biotechnol Lett 33, 1789–1796 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-011-0627-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-011-0627-3

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