CONTINUOUS GLYCEROLYSIS OF OLIVE OIL BY CHROMOBACTERIUM-VISCOSUM LIPASE IMMOBILIZED ON LIPOSOME IN REVERSED MICELLES

Chromobacterium viscosum lipase which was adsorbed on liposome and solubilized in microemulsion droplets of glycerol containing a little amount of water could catalyze the glycerolysis of olive oil. Studies on the continuous glycerolysis of olive oil by the immobilized enzyme was done at 37-degrees-C in a continuous stirred vessel bioreactor with polysulfone membrane. The effect of the flow rate of substrate (olive oil) in isooctane on the conversion and composition of the outlet was investigated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The conversion increased with decrease in the flow rate. And we studied the effect of water content in the glycerol-water-lipase solution on the glycerolysis reaction. The conversion to desirable products, mono- and di-olein, was improved without a substantial production of oleic acid at lower water concentrations, i.e., below 8.0% (w/v) which corresponds to a w(o) value of 0.97 At water concentration higher than 8.0% (w/v), the amount of free fatty acid was dramatically increased. Higher operational stability of the enzyme was obtained in this continuous stirred vessel reactor, and the half-life of the enzyme during this continuous reaction was about 7 weeks.