Enzymatic catalyzed transesterification reaction of tung oil to produce biodiesel continuously

In order to raise the production efficiency, find out the appropriate reaction conditions for biodiesel industrial production, the transesterification reaction conditions of tung oil and methanol to produce biodiesel continuously catalyzed by immobilized lipase were studied. The reactions were carried out in fluidized bed reactors, and the influences of volume flow-rate, the density of lipase in the reactor, the molar ratio of methanol to oil and the reaction time on the transesterification conversion under the reaction temperature 43℃ were investigated. The reaction conditions for one reactor were as follows: the flow-rate 0.33 mL/min, the molar ratio of methanol to oil 0.75:1, the density of lipase in the reactor 0.15 g/mL, and the conversion was 22%. The same four reactors were used to make the transesterification reaction of tung oil thoroughly and continuously: a mixture of tung oil and 1:4 molar equivalent of methanol were fed into the first column at a constant flow rate of 0.33 mL/min. The eluate and 1:4 molar equivalent of methanol were mixed and then fed into the second column at the same flow rate. The same is in the third column and the fourth one, and the continuous transesterification conversion of tung oil under this reaction conditions reached 88%-92%. It was found out that conditions of this continuous transesterification reaction were more efficient than that of the batch one, and could be used in the biodiesel industrial production catalyzed by lipase.