Transesterification of Waste Cooking Oil by an Organic Solvent-Tolerant Alkaline Lipase from Streptomyces sp. CS273

Abstract

The aim of this present study was to produce a microbial enzyme that can potentially be utilized for the enzymatic transesterification of waste cooking oil. To that end, an extracellular lipase was isolated and purified from the culture broth of Streptomyces sp. CS273. The molecular mass of purified lipase was estimated to be 36.55 kDa by SDS PAGE. The optimum lipolytic activity was obtained at alkaline pH 8.0 to 8.5 and temperature 40 °C, while the enzyme was stable in the pH range 7.0 ∼ 9.0 and at temperature ≤40 °C. The lipase showed highest hydrolytic activity towards p-nitrophenyl myristate (C14). The lipase activity was enhanced by several salts and detergents including NaCl, MnSo₄, and deoxy cholic acid, while phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride at concentration 10 mM inhibited the activity. The lipase showed tolerance towards different organic solvents including ethanol and methanol which are commonly used in transesterification reactions to displace alcohol from triglycerides (ester) contained in renewable resources to yield fatty acid alkyl esters known as biodiesel. Applicability of the lipase in transesterification of waste cooking oil was confirmed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis.