Lipase catalyzed solvent free synthesis of monoacylglycerols in various reaction systems and coupling reaction with pervaporation for in situ water removal

This work reports a practical comparison of simple reaction systems for enzymatic production of monoacylglycerols (MAG) from lauric- and caprylic acid. Two approaches namely shake flasks and packed bed reactor (from 60 g to 3 kg scale) were compared as well as water removal strategies such as adsorption on molecular sieves, N2 stripping and hydrophilic pervaporation, were studied. In all the reactor systems high fatty acid conversion (>90%) was achieved in solvent free conditions. The product profile obtained showed 35 wt% - 50 wt% MAG in various systems and was related to final fatty acid conversion as well as reaction conditions and set-ups. The selectivity of products in the tested systems, ranged from 55 to 70 wt% mono-, 30–35 wt% di- and 1–10 wt% triacylglycerols. Packed bed reactor enabling enzyme reuse, was coupled with pervaporation, demonstrating practical applicability of zeolite based membranes for in situ water removal.