The Use of Fixed Bed Meander Microreactor in Enzymatic Glycerolysis Study

Transesterification of soybean oil (O) with glycerol (G), catalysed by Novozym 435, was studied in tert-butyl alcohol as solvent. The effects of reaction tempe¬rature (40–50 °C), solvent concentration (20–35 vol.%), G/O molar ratio (1:1 – 2:1), and residence time (min) on the oil phase composition (tri- (TAG), di- (DG) and monoacylglycerol) were evaluated. DAG formation was preferred at lower temperatures, lower G/S mole ratios, and at higher solvent concentrations. The data for G/S = 2:1 agreed well with those obtained in a continous fixed-bed column reactor. Glycerolyses of olive, sunflower, rapeseed, and linseed oils are also reported. Higher reaction rates of continous processes compared with batch glycero¬lysis were observed.