Utilização de resíduos gordurosos para a produção de biodiesel via enzimatica

Abstract

The present study deals with the production of fatty acids ethyl esters (FAEEs) by transesterification reaction of waste cooking oil in a solvent-free system mediated by microbial lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens (Lipase AK) immobilized by physical adsorption on polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) particles. The maximum hydrolytic activity, measured on the hydrolysis of olive oil emulsion at pH 7.0 and 37 °C, was 413.76 U/g of support for the biocatalyst prepared by offering protein loading of 30 mg/g of support. In the present study, it was proposed a 22 full factorial design to find the variables of the process that have a significant influence on the enzymatic synthesis of FAEEs by transesterification of waste cooking oil. The reactions were performed at fixed biocatalyst concentration of 10 % m/m, continuous agitation of 200 rpm and time reaction of 15 h. Under optimal experimental conditions (molar ratio oil:ethanol of 1:4.7 and reaction temperature of 34 °C), maximum transesterification yield percentage of 67.9% was reached. However, purified FAEEs produced at molar ratio oil:ethanol 1:3 and 45°C exhibited kinematic viscosity of 3.82 centipoise. This study demonstrated that the experimental design is appropriate for the maximization of FAEEs synthesis by transesterification of waste cooking oil in a solvent-free system. This methodology also makes it possible to determine a desirable working region where a better performance for the transesterification reaction can be achieved.