Ethanolysis of a waste material from olive oil distillation catalyzed by three different commercial lipases: A kinetic study

Abstract

Ethanolysis of a raffinate product-obtained after distillation of olive oil-catalyzed by three commercial lipases (from Candida antarctica, Rhizomucor miehei and Thermomyces lanuginosa) was studied. Uni-response model derived from a generalized Michaelis–Menten mechanism was utilized to describe the rates of formation of ethyl esters from the fatty acids present in the precursor oil. The rate constants for the ethanolysis of triacylglycerols and steryl esters under the reaction conditions were compared. Moreover, inactivation of three lipases was evaluated. Because the half-life of the enzyme is comparable to or even shorter than the half-life of the reaction, the intrinsic reaction rate and enzyme deactivation must both be considered in modeling the kinetics.