SYNTHESIS OF ETHYL OLEATE BY ENZYMATIC ESTERIFICATION USING DIFFERENT LIPASES

This work aims to compare the performance of commercial lipases, Pseudomonas fluorescens Thermomyces lanuginosus and porcine pancreatic, immobilized via physical adsorption on different hydrophobic supports (poly-methacrylate particles, poly-styrene-divinylbenzene resin and polypropylene particles) in the synthesis of ethyl oleate ester. These biocatalysts have not been reported for the synthesis of this ester until now, justifying the present work. The highest conversion (70.31 ± 0.96 %) was obtained for Pseudomonas fluorescens lipase immobilized on poly-styrene-divinylbenzene support after only 150 min of esterification reaction.