Enzymatic transesterification of Jatropha curcas oil assisted by ultrasonication

Ultrasonication used for the production of fatty acid methyl ester from non-edible vegetable oil using immobilized lipase (Chromobacterium viscosum) as a catalyst from Enterobacter aerogenes to make the process fully ecologically and environmental friendly. The optimal conditions for biodiesel production is the molar ratio oil to methanol 1:4, catalyst concentration 5 wt.% of oil, reaction time 30 min, ultrasonic amplitude 50% (100 W/m3) and cycle 0.7 s. ultrasonication reduce the reaction time comparing to the conventional batch process. The purity and conversion of the biodiesel was 84.5 ± 0.5 analyzed by reversed phase HPLC.

► The present study demonstrates that immobilized lipase can used to catalyze transesterification of Jatropha curcus oil using ultrasonic irradiation for biodiesel Synthesis. ► The optimal reaction condition is the molar ratio oil to methanol 1:4, catalyst concentration 5 wt.% of oil, reaction time 30 min, ultrasonic amplitude 50% and cycle 0.7 s. The synthesized biodiesel match ASTM and BIS specification (Table 2). ► The purity and quality of synthesized biodiesel were analyzed by HPLC technique (Fig. 2).