LIPASE CATALYZED BIODIESEL PRODUCTION FROM DELONIX REGIA OIL

The enzymatic transesterification of Delonix regia oil was investigated in the present study. Oil was extracted from D. regia seeds using n-hexane as solvent and various physico-chemical characteristics of the oil was studied. Lipase from Candida rugosa was immobilized on celite and transesterification reaction was performed using free and immobilized lipase. Three-step addition of methanol was employed to avoid the enzyme inactivation and higher yield of methyl esters (>90 %) was obtained after 24 h of reaction. The conversion of the oil into fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel) was confirmed by Gas Chromatography (GC) analysis. Various parameters such as oil to methanol molar ratio, reaction temperature and amount of catalyst were optimized to obtain higher yield of biodiesel.The best conditions for maximum biodiesel yield was obtained with oil/methanol molar ratio of 1:4, temperature of 50°C, and enzyme concentration of 20 % (w/w)