Monday, May 2, 2011
Grand Ballroom C-D, 2nd fl (Sheraton Seattle)
Transesterification of vegetable oils using immobilized lipase for the production of biodiesel as an alternative to diesel fuels has gained considerable interest in recent years.In this study we have utilized Thermomyces lanuguinosa lipase immobilized in hen egg white for the transesterification of sunflower oil.The immobilized lipase was tested for transeterification in presence and absence of solvent, using methanol as the acyl donor. The presence of the solvent hexane, improved the process of transesterification with a higher conversion of free fatty acids to fatty acid methyl ester, as compared to the solvent free system. Three different molar concentrations of oil:methanol was studied (1:2, 1:3, 1:4) of which a maximum production of methyl esters was obtained at a molar ratio of 1:4. The parameters such as amount of catalyst and reaction time were studied to find the optimum conditions for the conversion of sunflower oil to biodiesel and will be presented.