Liquid Lipase-Catalyzed Esterification of Oleic Acid with Methanol for Biodiesel Production in the Presence of Superabsorbent Polymer: Optimization by Using Response Surface Methodology

Hoang Chinh Nguyen, Dinh Thi My Huong, Horng-Yi Juan, Chia-Hung Su and Chien-Chung Chien
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Hoang Chinh Nguyen: Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
Dinh Thi My Huong: Faculty of Chemical Engineering, University of Technology and Education—The University of Danang, Danang City 550000, Vietnam
Horng-Yi Juan: Department of Chemical Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan
Chia-Hung Su: Department of Chemical Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan
Chien-Chung Chien: Department of Chemical Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: Liquid lipase-catalyzed esterification of fatty acids with methanol is a promising process for biodiesel production. However, water by-product from this process favors the reverse reaction, thus reducing the reaction yield. To address this, superabsorbent polymer (SAP) was used as a water-removal agent in the esterification in this study. SAP significantly enhanced the conversion yield compared with the reaction without SAP. The lipase-catalyzed esterification in the presence of SAP was then optimized by response surface methodology to maximize the reaction conversion. A maximum conversion of 96.73% was obtained at a temperature of 35.25 °C, methanol to oleic acid molar ratio of 3.44:1, SAP loading of 10.55%, and enzyme loading of 11.98%. Under these conditions, the Eversa Transform lipase could only be reused once. This study suggests that the liquid lipase-catalyzed esterification of fatty acids using SAP as a water-removal agent is an efficient process for producing biodiesel.

Keywords: biodiesel; esterification; liquid lipase; superabsorbent polymer; response surface methodology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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