Low energy process for transesterification of extracted lipids from microbial degradation of plastic

Abstract

The invention provides a method and system for the enzymatic transesterification of fatty acids or fatty acid derived products to produce lubricant esters. The process involves a reaction mixture containing a fatty acid or fatty acid-derived substrate, an alcohol and a lipolytic enzyme catalyst. A reactive column with a porous frit is employed through which air is bubbled into a mixture of fatty acid derivatives, alcohol and an immobilized lipase catalyst. The air bubbles promote mixing and the subsequent stripping of volatile by-products, thereby increasing ester formation. This process can be carried out at ambient temperature, without the need for external heating or microwave irradiation. The method achieves greater that 99 mol % conversion to ester products at lower energy when compared to conventional thermochemical transesterification.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.