In the present study, Candida antarctica lipase B was immobilized on amine‐functionalized silica microspheres as cross‐linked enzyme aggregates (CLEA) and utilized for the biomanufacturing of rhamnolipids (RL). Lipase CLEA synthesized under optimized conditions of 2.0:1.0 by volume of silica microsphere/enzyme concentration, a 1.0:2.5 (v/v) ratio of enzyme/2‐propanol, 7 mM glutaraldehyde concentration, when incubated at pH 9.0 and 40 °C, for a cross‐linking time of 30 min were observed to exhibit superior biocatalytic properties and a maximum enzyme load of 770 U g−1. Lipase CLEA exhibited enhanced pH stability in acidic and alkaline media and increased temperature resistance as compared to free lipase. Both free and CLEA lipases were used to synthesize RL in different solvent systems. After 12 h, from initiation of the esterification, the degree of esterification (molar conversion yield) reached 46% and 71% in the batch mode. 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high‐performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis confirm RL production by CLEA lipase. The CLEA showed greater confrontation to enzyme‐mediated bioprocess approach as compared to its soluble counterpart and exhibited excellent RL production and catalytic activity even after its tenth successive reuse.

In the present study, amino-functionalised mesoporous silica microspheres were utilised as support for the covalent immobilisation of Candida antarctica lipase B (CaLB) for the subsequent production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) from 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF). Under the optimised operating conditions of pH 6.5, particle/enzyme ratio of 1.25:1.0 and glutaraldehyde concentration of 4 mM, a maximum CaLB immobilisation yield of 82.4% on silica microspheres was obtained in 12.25 h. The immobilised CaLB was used for the synthesis of alkyl esters, which were utilised along with hydrogen peroxide for FDCA synthesis. The biocatalytic conversion of 30 mM DFF dictated a 77-79% FDCA in 48 h at 30°C; where the turnover number and turnover frequency of immobilised CaLB were 6220.73 mol mol −1 and 129.59 h −1 , respectively, for ethyl acetate, against 6297.65 mol mol −1 and 131.2 h −1 , respectively, for ethyl butyrate. Upon examining the operational stability, the immobilised CaLB exhibited high stability till five cycles of FDCA production.