Optimization of the reaction conditions of jatropha curcas oil transesterification by immobilized biocatalyst

Abstract

The focus on the use of renewable energy sources has grown increasingly around the world in order to mitigate the effects generated by oil and its derivatives and reduce humanity's dependence on these fuels. Thus, the core of this work involves the production of biodiesel under milder reaction conditions. The transesterification reaction will be carried out in a continuous flow reactor with the presence of an enzymatic catalyst (Eversa® Transform 2.0 lipase) commercially in the aqueous phase. Lipases, compared to chemical catalysts, are less sensitive to high acidity and presence of oil moisture, are selective and require lower temperatures for operation. Jatropha curcas L. appears relatively recent in scientific research as a promising raw material for not competing with human food, besides being a flexible species to edaphoclimatic variations. Experimental planning will be done to identify the best conditions that will provide the optimization of the process from a factorial arrangement with four variables (molar ratio oil: ethanol, temperature, residence time and lipase concentration), which will allow to know the conditions that will lead to the response of interest, ie the maximum value of biodiesel production.