Continuous hydrolysis of tallow with immobilized lipase in a microporous membrane

Abstract

Thermostable lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus was immobilized in untreated microporous membranes. Melted tallow pumped through the membrane did not wash the enzyme out. From 0.4 to 0.9% of the soluble activity remained after immobilization with half-lives of 1-2 months or more at 50 degrees C. Membranes can be acid/base washed and reloaded with enzyme with no adverse effects. Buffer was required for a long half-life, and recycling the buffer improved the mass transfer of glycerol out of the immobilized lipase reactor. Immobilized activity was unaffected when the pH of the aqueous product changed from 5.5 to 6.5.

Studies on the transesterification of glycerides: I. The methanolysis of tripalmitin catalysed by diorganotin(IV) compounds

“…The maximum concentration of monopalmitin at 2.0 mM was attained in almost 24 h, at which point the dipalmitin concentration was minimal. These trends suggest a stepwise reaction for the transesterification of tripalmitin as indicated in Eqns [7]- [9], where k' 1 , k' 2 and k' 3 represent the rate constants of the forward reactions, and k' À1 , k' À2 and k' À3 those of the reverse reactions.…”

“…To overcome these problems, new catalyst systems continue to be intensively investigated, and among the noteworthy examples here are guanidine and its derivatives, 7,8 and the enzyme lipase. 9,10 Organotin compounds appear not to have been used yet in studies with triglycerides, although their catalytic potential in the transesterification of acetates and propionates, [11][12][13] methacrylates, 14,15 dialkyl carbonates 16,17 and other esters [18][19][20] has been documented. This has prompted the present investigation of their use for catalysing the methanolysis of tripalmitin, the dominant triglyceride in palm oil (Eqn [1]; R = C 15 H 31 ).…”

Lipase-Catalyzed Biochemical Reactions in Novel Media: A Review

“…Membrane bioreactors can be operated in different ways. For the hydrolysis of fats and oils, mainly microporous (0.1-0.4 urn) hydrophobic membranes have been used (Hoq et al, 1985a(Hoq et al, , b, 1986Taylor et al, 1986). The lipase is adsorbed onto polypropylene membranes and the interfacial enzyme concentration is dependent on the purity of the enzyme separation used (Hoq et aI., 1985b).…”

“…Separation of the resulting glycerol solution and free fatty acids is realized in the membrane unit. Using a thermostable lipase immobilized on a hydrophobic membrane, Taylor et al (1986) succeeded in passing tallow through the membrane. The two phases were separated by settling the mixture after which the aqueous phase could be recycled.…”

Hydrolysis of fats and oils with moist oat caryopses

“…The pressure drop along the reactor coordinate is small, and no bulk flow through the membrane is allowed. For normal flow through the membrane, one of the phases is pumped through the membrane, and the other phase remains stationary (Taylor et al, 1986).…”