Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.41, No.23, 5770-5774, 2002
On-line extraction-reaction of canola oil with ethanol by immobilized lipase inSC-CO2
On-line extraction-reaction was carried out in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) in the temperature range from 308 to 328 K and the pressure range from 24 to 35 MPa. Fatty acid ethyl esters were synthesized from extracted canola oil with ethanol by using the immobilized lipase (Lipozyme IM). The effects of ethanol amount, enzyme load, and operational conditions on the amount of fatty acid esters (FAE), free fatty acids (FFA), and mono-, di-, and triglycerides (MG, DG, and TG, respectively) present in the product were investigated. The results show that it is possible to synthesize fatty acid ethyl esters efficiently at high temperature. Finally, a new process operating at different extractor and reactor temperatures was proposed.