Continuous production of monoacylglycerol via glycerolysis of babassu oil by immobilized Burkholderia cepacia lipase in a packed bed reactor

This study investigated the glycerolysis of babassu oil by Burkholderia cepacia lipase immobilized on SiO2-PVA particles in a continuous packed bed reactor. Experiments were conducted in a solvent-free system at 273.15 K either in an inert atmosphere or in the presence of cocoa butter to prevent lipid oxidation. The reactor (15 x 55 mm) was run at a fixed space time of 9.8 h using different molar ratios of babassu oil to glycerol (1:3, 1:6, 1:9, 1:12, and 1:15) to assess the effects of reactant molar ratio on monoacylglycerol productivity and selectivity. Nitrogen atmosphere and cocoa butter were equally effective in inhibiting lipid oxidation, indicating that addition of cocoa butter to glycerolysis reactions may be an interesting cost-reduction strategy. An oil/glycerol molar ratio of 1:9 resulted in the highest productivity (52.3 +/- 2.9 mg g(-1) h(-1)) and selectivity (31.5 +/- 1.8%). Residence time distribution data were fitted to an axial dispersion model for closed-vessel boundary conditions, giving a mass transfer coefficient (k(c)) of 3.4229 x 10(-6) m s(-1). A kinetic model based on elementary steps of the studied reaction was written in Scilab and compared with experimental data, providing standard deviations in the range of 5.5-7.5%.