Enzymatic alcoholysis of palm and palm kernel oils - Optimization by statistical methods

The use of lipases as biocatalysts in ester synthesis has been the object o f growing interest, owing to the importance of esters as emulsifiers, inter mediates to produce oleochemicals, and fuel alternatives. We consider in th is report the application of lipases in the ethanolysis of palm and palm ke rnel oils to produce fatty-acid esters, using n-hexane as solvent. In order to maximize ester production, we adopted a Taguchi design and built an emp irical model. Using this procedure, we determined the optimal condition for each system and established the influence of process variables in the conv ersion.