Lipase-catalyzed production of wax esters

The lipase (triacylglycerol acylhydrolase, E.C. 3.1.1.3) catalyzed synthesis of wax esters has been investigated via two different approaches. All studies were performed using an immobilized 1,3-specific lipase [Lipozyme from Novo Industries (Montréal, Québec, Canada)]. The first approach involves reacting stoichiometric amounts of a fatty acid and stearyl alcohol in the presence of lipase. The medium is solvent-free, which allows for high substrate concentrations (1.55 M) and use of 5% (w/w) Lipozyme. In this reaction, maximum wax ester synthesis was found to be dependent upon the efficient removal of the water produced by the reaction. Under optimal conditions, yields of 100% were routinely reached after only 2 hr. The medium was then exclusively composed of the wax and the enzyme, no purification was required. The second method involves alcoholysis of a triglyceride, in this case triolein, with stearyl alcohol to produce 1,2-diolein, 2-monoolein and the wax ester of oleic acid. Again, no organic solvent was used. The wax ester yield was found to be directly dependent upon the alcohol concentration that was used to modulate the outcome of the reaction towards either the wax or the partial glycerides. The process was applied to the synthesis of waxes from high erucic acid rapeseed oil.     

Lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis with supercritical carbon dioxide extraction 2: Phase behavior

The phase behavior of systems containing ethanol plus lipid samples with different lipid compositions plus carbon dioxide was studied visually at 40°C and pressures of 0.01, 9, 15, and 23 MPa by means of a high-pressure sapphire cell. The systems studied represent the main components present in a lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis reaction of cod liver oil in supercritical carbon dioxide. Two phases, a vapor and a liquid phase, were observed in all systems studied at supercritical conditions.     

Lipase-catalyzed production of biodiesel

Lipases were screened for their ability to transesterify triglycerides with short-chain alcohols to alkyl esters. The lipase fromMucor miehei was most efficient for converting triglycerides to their alkyl esters with primary alcohols, whereas the lipase fromCandida antarctica was most efficient for transesterifying triglycerides with secondary alcohols to give branched alkyl esters. Conditions were established for converting tallow to short-chain alkyl esters at more than 90% conversion. These same conditions also proved effective for transesterfying vegetable oils and high fatty acid-containing feedstocks to their respective alkyl ester derivatives. Presented in part at the 86th Annual Meeting of American Oil Chemists’ Society, San Antonio, Texas, May 1995.     

Lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis with supercritical carbon dioxide extraction 1: Influence of flow rate

A combined process of lipase (E.C. 3.1.1.3) catalysis and extraction of product with supercritical carbon dioxide was studied. The effect of different flow rates of the extraction fluid on the selective removal of the ethyl esters (EE) synthesized in a lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis of cod liver oil with ethanol was investigated. The faster the flow rate, the faster the extraction rate and the higher the recovery of EE. For example, after a 270-min extraction, the total recovery of EE was 1520 mg for a flow rate of 0.3 liter carbon dioxide at atmospheric pressure and room temperature/min (NL/min) as compared to 250 mg when 0.015 NL/min was used. The concentration of EE in the carbon dioxide was found to decrease with increasing flow rate, which indicates that the rate of diffusion of EE limits their extraction at fast flow rates. A high flow rate was found to result in a more selective extraction of EE, i.e., less amounts of other lipid components present in the reaction mixture were coextracted with the EE. Further, by increasing the flow rate, the equilibrium of the reaction was shifted slightly toward ester synthesis. An increase in the flow rate from 0.015 to 0.075 NL/min resulted in an approximately 10% increase in total conversion (from 73 to 82%), whereas only a negligible increase was obtained when the flow rate was increased further to 0.15 NL/min.     

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of waxes from milk fat and oleyl alcohol

A screening of five lipases was carried out for the synthesis of wax esters from stoichiometric amounts of oleyl alcohol and milk fat in which long-chain fatty acid content (myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, and oleic acid) represents 70% of the total fatty acid fraction. The lipases from Alcaligenes sp. and Chromobacterium viscosum both allowed for the best ester synthesis (around 60%) within 2 and 48 h, respectively. Enzeco® Lipase Concentrate gave 30% ester yield within only 2 h. During the time period of 166 h, less than 20% ester synthesis was obtained with Lipozyme? 10,000L whereas Enzeco® Lipase XX did not catalyze the reaction. Owing to commercial availability, the food-grade Enzeco® Lipase Concentrate preparation was selected for further experiments with a view to improve wax synthesis. Wax yields were compared for three substrate molar ratios, i.e., 0.5:1, 1:1, and 1.5:1 (alcohol/fatty acid). For 0.5:1 and 1.5:1 substrate molar ratios, the addition of water increased ester yields while the effect of silica gel addition was shown to be minor. The best improvement was obtained at a substrate molar ratio of 1.5:1 with addition of water, leading to 59% wax ester synthesis.     

Lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis of cod liver oil in supercritical carbon dioxide

Enzymatic alcoholysis of cod liver oil, with an immobilized lipase, was carried out in supercritical carbon dioxide. The enzyme was catalytically active under the experimental conditions used. The reaction medium was investigated to preferentially extract ethyl esters, synthesized during the course of the experiment, from the unconverted cod liver oil substrate and side-products. The effect of pressure changes on the amount of tri-, di-, and monoglycerides and ethyl esters, present in both the extract and the remaining lipid residue, was determined. Furthermore, the fatty acid compositions of the lipid classes were analyzed, and the relative amounts of both eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid to palmitic acid were determined. The results show that it is possible to preferentially extract the synthesized ethyl esters at low pressures. The extract collected at 9 MPa contained 64 g ethyl esters/100 g extract, while the total amount of all other lipid classes detected was 19 g/100 g extract. As the pressure was increased, the relative amount of the other lipid classes detected in the extract, especially triglycerides, was enhanced. The relative amounts of both eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid to palmitic acid increased for some lipid classes in the extract. This increase was most pronounced for the monoglyceride lipid class. The integration of biocatalysis and product fractionation, applied in this study, suggests that the potential for biocatalysis in industrial processes is considerably wider than had been thought.     

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of chiral triglycerides

Under certain reaction conditions, the acidolysis of tripalmitin with oleic acid using immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei resulted in a higher level of monosubstituted oleoyldipalmitoyl (OPP) triglycerides than had been predicted according to kinetic modeling. The reaction products were subjected to chiral analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which indicated that the enzyme was more active at the sn-1 position of the triglyceride than at the sn-3 position, resulting in synthesis of the chiral triglyceride 1-oleoyl-2,3-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycerol. A kinetic model was developed and was correlated with the HPLC method to provide a simple means to predict the stereoselectivity of lipase-catalyzed reactions. By using the model, the stereoselectivity of immobilized Rhizomucor miehei lipase was found to depend strongly on the initial water activity (a _w) of the reaction mixture, with greater selectivity occurring at lower a _w. The sn-1 selectivity was essentially maintained using various solvents, or without solvent, when a _w was kept constantly low. Variation in the fatty acid composition of the triglyceride indicated that shorter-chain fatty acids result in greater stereoselectivity, while variation of the chainlength of the free fatty acid indicated an enhancement by the longest chainlength. The stereoselectivity of this lipase was confirmed using a new ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance method. By using immobilized R. miehei lipase at low a _w approximately 80% of the chiral triglyceride found in the reaction mixture was the sn-1 enantiomer, at high reaction conversion.     

Synthesis of structured triglycerides from peanut oil with immobilized lipase

Structured triglycerides (ST) that contain medium- and long-chain fatty acids were synthesized by lipase-catalyzed interesterification between tricaprylin and peanut oil. To select appropriate enzymes, we investigated nine commercial lipase preparations for their ability to hydrolyze pure triglycerides as well as natural oils. Three microbial lipases from Rhizomucor miehei (RML), Candida sp. (CSL), and Chromobacterium viscosum (CVL) gave good results, and immobilized preparations were used in the interesterification. RML gave the highest yields of ST (73%, 40°C), although its hydrolytic activity toward triolein was low. As the temperature was raised to 50°C, the yield of ST increased to 79%. After 120 h reaction time, remaining activities were high for CSL (71%), moderate for CVL (48%), and low for RML (20%). Parts of this paper were presented as a poster at the Biochemical Engineering Conference IX, May 1995, Davos, Switzerland.     

Transesterification kinetics of triglycerides for a modified lipase inn-hexane

A simple kinetic model for the transesterification of triglycerides catalyzed by a modified lipase inn-hexane has been proposed. The model assumes that the enzyme has 1,3-positional specificity and does not distinguish among the different fatty acid residues considered in this study. The model is based on material balances of consecutive second-order reversible reactions and requires only one parameter that can easily be determined experimentally. The differential rate equations have been solved analytically to give explicit equations that link the concentrations of all possible triglycerides to the initial conditions and the reaction time. The model was in good agreement with experimental data for different biocatalyst concentrations with the same value of the specific rate constant. The same value of specific rate constant also gave a good fit with experimental data for an acidolysis reaction between a triglyceride and a fatty acid, implying that the modified lipase did not distinguish between free fatty acids and fatty acid residues attached to the 1 and 3 positions of glycerol backbone.     

Diesel fuel as a solvent for the lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis of triglycerides and phosphatidylcholine

The abilities of three commercially available lipases—Lipozyme IM 20, Amano PS-30, and Amano CE—to synthesize fatty acid ethyl esters via the alcoholysis of soy triglycerides (TG) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) in grade No. 2 diesel fuel were investigated. All three enzyme preparations were active in water-saturated diesel fuel, synthesizing fatty acid esters from both TG and PC. Response surface methodology, based on a Modified Central Composite design, was employed to examine the coordinate effects of lipid, water, and ethanol concentrations on enzyme activities and to identify conditions yielding maximum alcoholysis. For all three enzymes, optimal activities toward TG occurred at added water concentrations of less than 0.3 M. With PC as substrate, optimal enzyme activities occurred at added water concentrations as much as tenfold greater than this, and the amount of water required for maximum activity was proportional to the substrate concentration. For both substrates the enzyme activities were generally reduced as ethanol concentrations rose. The exceptions to this were the Lipozyme-TG combination, where activity increased with increasing ethanol concentrations, and the PS-30-PC combination, where activity was roughly constant across the range of water and ethanol concentrations examined. Hydrolytic activities of the enzymes in aqueous reactions were poor predictors of transesterification activity in organic solvent: the aqueous hydrolytic activities of CE and PS-30 toward TG were roughly comparable, and 25 to 50 times greater than that of IM 20. However, in the alcoholysis of TG in diesel fuel the order of activities was PS-30>IM 20>CE. The activities of Lipozyme and CE toward PC were similar to one another, and PS-30 was considerably less active on this substrate. CE lipase was more active toward PC than toward TG. Lipozyme displayed comparable activity toward the two substrates. PS-30 was considerably more active on TG than on PC. Degrees of conversion were consistent with the transesterification of only one fatty acid of TG, and slightly greater than one fatty acid for PC. Preliminary studies indicated that for CE and PS-30, but not for Lipozyme IM 20, the degree of conversion of TG, but not PC, could be significantly increased by the further provision of ethanol. Expansion of this work could lead to a method for the production of simple fatty acid esters, which are suitable as diesel fuels, from multicomponent agricultural materials containing TG and PC.     

Lipase-catalyzed synthesis of ferulate esters

Four commercially available esterases were screened for their ability to esterify ferulic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxy cinnamate). Novozym^® 435 was found to be the only one of those screened to convert ferulic acid to ethyl and octyl ferulate at 20 and 14% yields, respectively. The highest percentage conversion was obtained using a 1∶1 mole ratio of alcohol to ferulic acid in stirred batch reactions in anhydrous 2-methyl-2-propanol at 60°C using one equivalent (wt/wt based on ferulic acid) of Novozym 435. Increased water content and a higher alcohol/ethyl ferulate ratio had adverse effects on the lipase-catalyzed esterification. The Novozym 435 activity was tested in less polar solvents (anhydrous toluene and hexane) by monitoring the alcoholysis of ethyl ferulate with 1-octanol, which resulted in a 50% yield of octyl ferulate. The alcoholysis was improved to 83% by applying a 16 mm Hg vacuum for 5 min every 24 h to remove the ethanol co-product. The optimal alcoholysis parameters were applied to the alcoholysis of ethyl ferulate with monoolein and the transesterification with triolein. The transesterification of ethyl ferulate with triolein in anhydrous toluene produced a combined 44% yield of ferulyl monoolein and ferulyl diolein, a 20% greater yield than that obtained for alcoholysis using monoolein. The highest yield, 77%, of ferulyl monoolein and ferulyl diolein was achieved using a threefold excess of neat triolein. The lipase-catalyzed transesterification of ethyl ferulate with triolein appears to be a technically feasible route to ferulyl-substituted acylglycerols, which are potentially useful sunscreen ingredients.     

Enzymatic alcoholysis reaction of soy phospholipids

Lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis of soy phospholipids was investigated to simultaneously make lysophospholipids and fatty acid esters of individual alcohols. Alcoholysis was carried out by stirring a mixture of soy phospholipids and individual alcohols in equimolar proportions with 10% (by weight of reactants) Mucor miehei lipase at 55°C for 24 h. The products were isolated by column chromatography after removal of the lipase. Lysophospholipids (in 69–78% molar yield) were obtained from soy phospholipids, and the yield of esters of various alcohols also conformed nearly with theoretical yields.     

Synthesis of diethyl carbonate by catalytic alcoholysis of urea

The production of diethyl carbonate (DEC) from urea and ethanol was investigated in a batch process. The catalytic activities of many metal oxides were evaluated, the influences of various operation conditions on the DEC yield were explored, and the catalytic mechanism was also analyzed. Among the tested catalysts, ZnO showed the best catalytic activity toward DEC synthesis. The optimum reaction conditions were as follows: ethanol/urea molar ratio of 10, catalyst concentration of 6%, reaction temperature of 463 K, reaction time of 5 h and the reaction pressure of 2.5 MPa, respectively. The highest DEC yield was 14.2%. The reaction of producing N-ethyl ethyl carbamate (N-EEC) was the main side reaction in this process, which consumed both ethyl carbamate and DEC. It is necessary to remove DEC from the reactor as quickly as possible.     

Lipase-catalyzed transesterification of rapeseed oil and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol

Lipase-catalyzed transesterification (alcoholysis) of lowerucic acid rapeseed oil and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol without an additional organic solvent was studied in stirred batch reactors. Of a number of commercially available enzymes investigated, the best results were obtained with aCandida rugosa lipase. The optimal transesterification conditions were an oil/alcohol molar ratio of 1∶2.8, a minimum of 1.0% (w/w) added water, and with a temperature of 37–55°C. Under the optimal conditions, a nearly complete conversion was obtained in one hour with 14.6% (w/w) lipase, whereas 0.3% (w/w) lipase required 10 h for similar results. The enzyme was inactivated at 60°C.     

Lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis of soybean oil in supercritical carbon dioxide

The transesterification of soybean oil with glycerol, 1,2-propanediol, and methanol by an immobilized lipase in flowing supercritical carbon dioxide for the synthesis of monoglycerides is described. A lipase from Candida antarctica was used to catalyze the reaction of soybean oil with glycerol, 1,2-propanediol, ethylene glycol, and methanol. Reactions were performed in supercritical carbon dioxide at a density of 0.72 g/L and at a flow rate of 6 μL/min (expanded gas). The substrates were added at flows ranging from 2.5 to 100 μL/min. Monoglycerides were obtained at up to 87 wt%, and fatty acid methyl esters at nearly 100 wt%. The reactivity of the alcohols paralleled the solubility of the substrate in liquid carbon dioxide. Glycerol has the slowest reaction rate, only 2% of that of methanol.     

Modification of soybean oil for intermediates by epoxidation,alcoholysis and amidation

Vegetable oils are a major source of many base chemicals. Unfortunately, most vegetable oils exhibit lower thermal and oxidation stability because of double bonds and even worse low-temperature behaviors. These physical and chemical properties can be improved by various chemical modifications. The catalytic hydrogenation of soybean oil (SBO) over 25% Ni/SiO₂ and 5% Pt/C is one of them, and the epoxidation of soybean oil and reduced soybean oil (RSBO) was carried out by using 30% of hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid in the presence of conc. sulfuric acid, and/or acidic Amberlyst 15 resin catalyst. Various alcohols and amines were added to the epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO) in the hope of improving lubricant properties. The reaction products were carefully analyzed by means of ¹H-NMR, FT-IR spectroscopies and GC-MS spectrometry. This paper covers the epoxidation of virgin and RSBOs, alcoholysis and amidation of ESBO and SBO. Finally, the structures of cross linked products synthesized from ESBO and SBO with 1,6-hexamethylendiamine were proposed.     

叔戊醇体系酶促大豆油制备生物柴油

叔戊醇作为反应介质,固定化脂肪酶Novozym 435催化大豆油与甲醇的转酯反应制备生物柴油。叔戊醇消除了反应底物甲醇及反应副产物甘油对酶活的负面影响。定量分析表明,叔戊醇与油脂的体积比为1,甲醇与油脂的摩尔比为3,2%脂肪酶,反应体系含水量2%,40 ℃、180 r/min条件下反应15 h,生物柴油得率可达97%。在最适条件下反应进行160批次,酶仍保持了较高的活性和良好的稳定性。     

The production of fish oils enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acid-containing triglycerides

A simple concentration technique was developed and used for the production of fish oils highly enriched with respect to the polyunsaturated triglycerides. The method involves the rapid solidification of fish oil droplets in liquid nitrogen followed by extraction with acetone at −60°C. The combined percentage ofcis-5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5) andcis-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid (22:6) after enrichment of a crude South African Anchovy (Engraulis capensis) oil was 57.4. A maximum percentage of 66.0 was attained for n-3 fatty acids after enrichment of a crude Chilean fish oil. A maximum yield of 26.0% was achieved for a crude sardine (Sardina pilchardus) oil. Triglycerides containing only saturated fatty acids or a combination of saturated and monoenoic acids were totally removed by the process, as assessed by silver-ion high-performance liquid chromatography of the triglyceride oils. This process permits the production of significant quantities of highly unsaturated triglycerides, which may be used in physiological and oxidative studies or for structural analysis of these triglycerides, many of which are present at extremely low concentrations in the original oils.     

脂肪酶催化合成单脂肪酸甘油酯

对脂肪本矣合成单甘酯中的催化作用作了综述。介绍了有机溶剂、反相胶束和无溶剂固相等反应体系中用不同脂肪酶对油脂选择水解、脂肪酸的酯化或脂肪酸酯与甘油的转酯反应、油脂甘油解以及甘油基团保护反应等合成方法。２     

Catalytic alcoholysis of bagasse cellulose for the total reducing sugars with temperature-sensitive phase-variable ionic liquid

The separation of cellulose hydrolyzate and ionic liquids (ILs) as well as the recycling of ILs is very plagued and needs to be resolved urgently in cellulose hydrolysis. In this study, a temperature-sensitive phase-variable IL was employed to develop a new conversion method for cellulose. It was found that the IL exhibited favorable catalytic activity over six repeated runs, which only decreased by 9.10%. Additionally, a mechanism for this alcoholysis system was proposed. The study is aimed to provide a new scientific way for the cellulose conversion and extend the application of temperature-sensitive ILs in biomass field.