Enzymatic production of biodiesel from Jatropha oil: A comparative study of immobilized-whole cell and commercial lipases as a biocatalyst

The large percentage of biodiesel fuel (BDF) cost associated with feedstock oil and enzyme. In order to reduce the cost of BDF production, the lipase producing whole cells of Rhizopus oryzae (ROL) immobilized onto biomass support particles (BSPs) was used for the production of BDF from relatively low cost non-edible oil from the seeds of Jatropha curcas. The activity of ROL was compared with that of commercially available most effective lipase (Novozym 435). Different alcohols as a hydroxyl donor are tested, and methanolysis of Jatropha oil progresses faster than other alcoholysis regardless of lipases used. The maximum methyl esters content in the reaction mixture reaches 80 wt.% after 60 h using ROL, whereas it is 76% after 90 h using Novozym 435. Both the lipases can be used for repeated batches and both lipases exhibit more than 90% of their initial activities after five cycles. Our results suggest that whole-cell ROL immobilized on BSP is a promising biocatalyst for producing BDF from oil.