Fast synthesis of 1,3‐DAG by Lecitase® Ultra‐catalyzed esterification in solvent‐free system

Lecitase® Ultra, a phospholipase, was explored as an effective biocatalyst for direct esterification of glycerol with oleic acid to produce 1,3‐DAG. Experiments were carried out in batch mode, and optimal reaction conditions were evaluated. In comparison with several organic solvent mediums, the solvent‐free system was found to be more beneficial for this esterification reaction, which was further studied to investigate the reaction conditions including oleic acid/glycerol mole ratio, temperature, initial water content, enzyme load, and operating time. The results showed that Lecitase® Ultra catalyzed a fast synthesis of 1,3‐DAG by direct esterification in a solvent‐free medium. Under the optimal reaction conditions, a short reaction time 1.5 h was found to achieve the fatty acid esterification efficiency of 80.3 ± 1.2% and 1,3‐DAG content of 54.8 ± 1.6 wt% (lipid layer of reaction mixture mass). The reusability of Lecitase® Ultra was evaluated via recycling the excess glycerol layer in the reaction system. DAG in the upper lipid layer of reaction mixture was purified by molecular distillation and the 1,3‐DAG‐enriched oil with a purity of about 75 wt% was obtained. Practical applications: The new Lecitase® Ultra catalyzed process for production of 1,3‐DAG from glycerol and oleic acid described in this study provides several advantages over conventional methods including short reaction time, the absence of a solvents and a high product yield.