Synthesis of biodiesel in column fixed-bed bioreactor using the fermented solid produced by Burkholderia cepacia LTEB11

We produced a lipase from Burkholderia cepacia in solid-state fermentation and used it to catalyze the synthesis of biodiesel in a fixed-bed reactor. In the solid-state fermentation step, a 50:50 (by mass) mixture of sugarcane bagasse and sunflower seed meal gave 234 units of pNPP-hydrolyzing activity per gram of dry solids at 96 h. This fermented solid was lyophilized and delipidated, packed into a column and used to catalyze the synthesis of biodiesel through the ethanolysis of soybean oil in a medium free of co-solvents, with the reaction mixture being continuously circulated through the column. The best conversion was 95% after 46 h, which was obtained at 50 °C, with an alcohol:oil molar ratio of 3:1, alcohol addition in two steps and the addition of 1% of (m/m) water to the reaction medium. This system has potential to decrease the costs of enzyme-catalyzed transesterification reactions.