Enzymatic transesterification of Jatropha oil

BACKGROUND Transesterification of Jatropha oil was carried out in t-butanol solvent using immobilized lipase from Enterobacter aerogenes. The presence of t-butanol significantly reduced the negative effects caused by both methanol and glycerol. The effects of various reaction parameters on transesterification of Jatropha oil were studied. RESULTS The maximum yield of biodiesel was 94% (of which 68% conversion was achieved with respect to methyl oleate) with an oil:methanol molar ratio of 1:4, 50 U of immobilized lipase/g of oil, and a t-butanol:oil volume ratio of 0.8:1 at 55 degrees C after 48 h of reaction time. There was negligible loss in lipase activity even after repeated use for seven cycles. CONCLUSION To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on biodiesel synthesis using immobilized E. aerogenes lipase.