A parameter study of ultrasound assisted enzymatic esterification

This work is focused on the study of the esterification parameters for the ultrasound assisted synthesis of isoamyl acetate catalyzed by lipase Lipozyme 435 in a continuous loop reactor. Investigating the influence of different parameters shows that a higher concentration of ester (462 mg/g mixture) can be obtained at a temperature of 50 °C, flow rate 0.16 mL/min. The best ultrasonication conditions are: sonication applied continuously for a short time (20 min), ultrasound power 32 mW and amplitude 20%. The enzyme can be successfully reused tree times without loss of enzyme activity. Reaction kinetics for isoamyl acetate ultrasound assisted production showed that satisfactory reaction concentration (close to the equilibrium concentrations) could be reached in short reaction times (2 h). Ultrasound assisted enzymatic esterification is consequently a cleaner and a faster process.