Enzymatic transesterification of Jatropha oil

BACKGROUND: Transesterification of Jatropha oil was carried out in t-butanol solvent using immobilized lipase from Enterobacter aerogenes. The presence of t-butanol significantly reduced the negative effects caused by both methanol and glycerol. The effects of various reaction parameters on transesterification of Jatropha oil were studied. RESULTS: The maximum yield of biodiesel was 94% (of which 68% conversion was achieved with respect to methyl oleate) with an oil:methanol molar ratio of 1:4, 50 U of immobilized lipase/g of oil, and a t-butanol:oil volume ratio of 0.8:1 at 55°C after 48 h of reaction time. There was negligible loss in lipase activity even after repeated use for seven cycles. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on biodiesel synthesis using immobilized E. aerogenes lipase.