Extended investigation of lipases for biotechnological application

Due to their versatility lipases are among the most investigated hydrolytic enzymes widely used for the synthesis of various compounds. Enzymatic synthesis has some great advantages, including mild reaction conditions, a high substrate specificity and eco-friendly processes. However, there are a variety of problems including necessity of large quantities of enzymes and inhibition by the components of reaction mixture. In order to optimize enzymatic production, it is necessary to select an enzyme with suitable properties under various conditions. This study was carried out to investigate the possibilities of commercial lipases application for the synthesis of various esters. It was found that t-butanol is more suitable for the hydrolysis reactions as compared to transesterification. In order to increase the productivity of oil transesterification (biodiesel synthesis) various additives, new solvents and different acyl acceptors are used. However, it was not an effective strategy for the enhancing the productivity of the processes under studied conditions. Oleic acid esterification with trimethylolpropane was determined to be an effective way for the production of trimethylolpropane triesters. The yields of the products obtained under mild conditions show the potential to be applied for the industrial production of biolubricants. Coconut oil transesterification with terpenol - β-citronellol - is an effective strategy for the production of valuable esters. Depending on the structure of the organic acid, lipase can catalyze the esterification of dicarboxylic acids with various alcohols. The transesterification and esterification of soap manufacturing wastes – suds - is an effective way of utilization of these wastes