Industrial change to eliminate energy-intense processes, reduce dependence on fossil resources, protect the environment and move toward stable commodity markets to enhance the appeal of utilization of farm products.
Industrial chemicals, fuels and polymers from renewable resources and more specifically in the substitution of materials derived from industrial fats and oils for petroleum-based industrial products.
Utilization of agricultural wastes (cellulose-based) and other renewable resources such as municipal solid wastes to fuels and chemicals.
Enzyme reactions. The conversion of fats and oils through enzymatic reactions into value-added products such as fatty acids and their monoglyceride derivatives has been of major commercial interest.
Most conventional reactions for the conversion of fats and oils to products such as fatty acids, esters of fatty acids, and monoglycerides are based on physiochemical reaction. The physiochemical synthesis of these products is a well-established industrial process.
These processes normally involve an inorganic homogenous catalyst and high temperatures and pressures. An alternative to the physiochemical processes is enzyme-catalyzed reactions. However, the high cost of enzyme makes the enzymatic processes economically unfavorable. This makes the development of supports for immobilization enzymes an area of high interest.
Enzyme immobilization. Immobilization of enzyme allows for its reuse in the reactions involving triglycerides. Several methods have been described for the immobilization of enzymes by researchers. Immobilization of enzyme by entrapment within a polymer matrix has been the topic of research in our group.
In this method a matrix is extended around the enzyme, holding it in place. One method of entrapment involves trapping the enzyme using a sol-gel polymerization. The immobilized catalyst by entrapment exhibits thermal stabilization and increased activity over the free enzyme form.
Immobilized-enzyme characterization. In order to engineer a stable, economical, and highly active immobilized enzyme for commercial application, one has to provide feedback to the catalyst improvement studies regarding pore size distributions, specific surface areas, and enzyme distribution within the immobilized gel. Therefore, characterization of the immobilized-enzyme is fundamental to the immobilization studies.
Noureddini, H., X. Gao, X., Philkana, R.S., "Immobilized Pseudomonas cepacia Lipase for Biodiesel Fuel Production from Soybean oil," Bioresource Technol., in press, (2004)
Noureddini, H., Harkey, D.W., Gustman, M.R., "A Continuous Process for the Soybean Oil," J.Am. Oil Chem. Soc., 81:203-207,(2004).
Noureddini, H., Gao, X., Joshi, S.,"Immobilization of Candida rugosa Lipase by Sol-Gel Entrapment and Its Application in the Hydrolysis of Soybean Oil," j.Am.Oil Chem.Soc., in press, (2003)
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