Lipase‐catalyzed glycerolysis of soybean oil in supercritical carbon dioxide

• Published in: Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society
• Main Authors: Jackson, Michael A., King, Jerry W.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1997
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11746-997-0152-7; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1007%2Fs11746-997-0152-7; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1007/s11746-997-0152-7

Abstract 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.