Lipase from Mucor miehei was immobilized in bis-(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate sodium salt (AOT) as well as lecithin water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion-based organogels (MBGs) formulated with biopolymers such as agar and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC), respectively. These lipase-containing MBGs prove to be novel solid-phase catalysts for use in organic media. Using these organogels at 258C, various esterification reactions in non-polar solvents as well as in solvent free systems were possible. Apparent lipase activity was influenced to some extent by the nature and the concentration of biopolymers used. Lipase stability in such MBGs is much higher than that observed in w/o microemulsions. MBGs containing lipase functioned effectively in repeated batch syntheses of fatty esters. Kinetic studies have shown that ester synthesis catalyzed by immobilized lipase occurs via the Ping-Pong bi-bi mechanism in which only inhibition by excess of alcohol has been identified. Values of all kinetic parameters were determined.

The solvent effect on the equilibrium position of the transesterification reaction of hexanol with ethyl acetate catalyzed by a lipase has been investigated in a variety of non-polar and polar solventsand binary mixtures. The results obtained indicate that the solvent effect on the equilibrium conversion is very small as compared to that for the direct esterification reactions.Equilibrium conversions were then predicted using the equilibrium constant for the reaction obtained from Gibbs free energy of formation information for reactants and products in combination with the UNIFAC activity coefficient model. A solvent independent equilibrium conversion was obtained, which was in good agreement with the observed average value for all solvents. This indicates that UNIFAC provides satisfactory estimates of the activity coefficients but its group contribution structure does not allow the prediction of the small differences in conversion among the solvents examined.Finally plots of these conversions versus the solvent octanol/water partition coefficient or the solubility of water in the solvent, that provide the correct trend in direct esterification reactions, did not achieve the same for transesterification.