The effect of the addition of a surfactant during the bio-conversion of a renewable glycerol into glycerol carbonate (GlyC) has been investigated. Lipase enzyme immobilized on magnetic particles assisted the GIyC synthesis via the carbonylation of glycerol originating from different oils with dimethyl carbonate (DMC). Glycerol from food production residues was compared with glycerol produced from the transesterification of soybean, rape, olive, palm, sunflower, and corn oils. Tween 20, Tween 80, Triton X or CTAB was added as surfactant in the biocatalytic system with the scope to enhance the biocatalyst performance via a direct surfactant-lipase interaction. Optimum conditions of the system were set up testing different types and concentrations of surfactant. Indeed, the biocatalyst exhibited a higher catalytic activity in the presence of the surfactant. Thus, TON increased from 13.0 x 10(5) to 22.6 x 10(5) using only 0.1% (w/w) CTAB. Beside these, the effect of the lipase-surfactant interaction was investigated in the context of biocatalyst preparation and storage conditions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.