The synthesis of biodiesel catalyzed by Mucor miehei lipase immobilized onto aminated polyethersulfone membranes

Abstract

Background

Nowadays, biodiesel has become more attractive in the quest for a novel fuel source due to its environmental benefits and the biodegradable properties. Transesterification of Helianthus annuus (sunflower) seeds oil is one of methodsacci for producing biodiesel fuel. However, during this process, the impurities are frequently found in the synthesized biodiesel which degrades the quality of biodiesel. Therefore, a proper catalyst is required to obtain the high-quality biodiesel. In this study, a series of aminated polyethersulfone (PES-$\mathrm{NH}_2$ ) membranes was prepared as solid support for immobilized Mucor miehei lipase. Glutaraldehyde was used as a cross-linker agent in immobilization process to investigate the effect of spacer toward biodiesel production.

Results

Based on elemental analysis, lipase was successfully attached onto PES-$\mathrm{NH}_2$ membranes and formed physical interactions. Enzyme loading values of synthesized membrane were higher than that of commercial filtration membrane. LC-MS analysis with C18 as a column showed that butyl palmitate, butyl linoleate, and butyl oleate were produced from transesterification reaction of triglyceride from sunflower oil and butanol. Based on FTIR analysis, the imine group as a covalent bond was successfully obtained during the cross-linking reaction. After reaction with the spacer, the enzyme loading was increased significantly from 177.05 to 911.48 μg/cm$^2$. The alkyl esters produced also showed high values after the cross-linking. According to biodiesel quality tests, the results were matched with the values specified by the ASTM.

Conclusion

Biodiesel from sunflower seeds oil was successfully synthesized through a transesterification reaction catalyzed by Mucor miehei lipase immobilized onto the synthesized aminated PES membrane. The addition of glutaraldehyde as a cross-linker showed an excellent enzyme loading value and led to significantly increased biodiesel conversion efficiency. This method is good to be developed, since the immobilized enzyme stability could be increased, the separation process was easier, and a high yield with good quality of biodiesel could be obtained.

Keywords

Helianthus annuus / Sunflower seeds oil / Biodiesel production / Aminated polyethersulfone membranes / Immobilized enzyme / Mucor miehei lipase / Glutaraldehyde

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