Novel polymeric supports for lipase immobilization and their application in the transesterification of soybean oil for biodiesel production

Abstract

This work describes the synthesis of terpolymers microspheres derived from methyl methacrylate, vinyl pivalate and glycidyl methacrylate with different morphologies and compositions, intended for use as carriers in lipase immobilization. The adopted experimental strategy led to the formation of porous structures, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The synthesized terpolymers were used as carriers for immobilization of the commercial lipase from Burkholderia cepacia through sequential stages of physical adsorption and covalent bonding. The results demonstrated a retention above 95 %. The immobilized lipase on different polymers were applied as catalyst in a transesterification reaction via ethanolysis of soybean oil. Further studies were carried out to find better conditions for immobilization. The combination of an enzyme loading of 60 mg/g and polymer microparticles composed of 60:20:20 mass percentages of the monomers methyl methacrylate, vinyl pivalate and glycidyl methacrylate, synthesized using 5 % toluene was found to be the most attractive condition, resulting in high biodiesel conversions above 80 %. This indicates that our new polymeric support exhibits great potential for use in enzyme immobilization intended for biocatalysis.