ENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF ISOAMYL STEARATE USING DIFFERENT SOURCES OF MICROBIAL LIPASES IMMOBILIZED ON POLYSTYRENE/DIVINYLBENZENE COPOLYMER

Different sources of microbial lipases (Candida rugosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Rhizopus oryzae Candida antartica, Penicillium camemberti and Thermomyces lanuginosus) were immobilized on polystyrene/divinylbenzene copolymer and used as biocatalysts to mediate the esterification of isoamyl alcohol with stearic acid in the presence of isooctane as solvent. All reactions were carried out using starting materials at equimolar ratio for a maximum period of 48 h at 45 °C under mechanical agitation (250 rpm). All the tested lipases showed potential to catalyze the esterification reactions although at different rates. The highest performance was achieved by Rhizopus oryzae lipase, showing to be an attractive alternative to bulk chemical routes to satisfy commercial demands for isoamyl stearate.