Fatty acids residue from palm oil refining process as feedstock for lipase catalyzed monoacylglicerol production under batch and continuous flow conditions

Free fatty acids are used in many cases for the production of soaps, candles and assist processing of rubber products, but we believe that new process technology should be developed to produce products with higher added value. Monoacylglycerols (MAGs) are nonionic surfactant, highly hydrophobic and has been used as controlled release systems for drugs. The results presented here for the lipase-catalyzed MAG production show that both batch and continuous flow conditions can lead to the desired product in short reaction time and high yield (70–95%) but the use of packed bed reactors (PBR) shows higher efficiency when compared to batch reactors.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► DoE oriented reaction optimization. ► Biocatalyzed batch and flow process. ► Lipase catalyzed monoacylglycerol synthesis. ► Process intensification.