Whole Cell Hydrolysis of Sardine (Sardinella Lemuru) Oil Waste Using Mucor Circinelloides NRRL 1405 Immobilized in Poly-urethane Foam

Sardine (Sardinella lemuru) fish canning industries produce oil waste that can be potentially reused because of its omega-3 content. However, the majority of the omega-3 content are still bound to triacylglyceride form. The objective of this study is to determine optimum pH and temperature of hydrolysis process using lipase of whole-cell biocatalyst Mucor circinelloides immobilized in Poly-Urethane Foam (PUF). The optimum hydrolysis products were obtained at pH 7 and temperature 35 °C. The hydrolysis product at the optimum condition was fractionated using Thin Layer Chromatograpy (TLC). For further analysis, every fraction was extracted and esterified using Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) method. Fatty acid methyl ester were analyzed using Gas Chromatography (GC) to determine the omega-3 content. After hydolysis, GC result showed an increase in omega-3 (EPA and DHA) content as much as 12.56% compared to the crude oil. However, total lipid was reduced, presumably by lipid consumption activity of fungus during the hydrolysis process, resulting in the lost of more than 80% of total lipid in oil waste.