Reactions of olive oil and glycerol over immobilized lipases

The reaction of olive oil and glycerol over immobilized lipases was studied. For oil samples with free fatty acid (FFA) contents larger than 2%, FFA esterification and glycerolysis took place simultaneously, but the esterification reaction was faster than glycerolysis. Similar product distributions were obtained for glycerol/oil mole ratios of 3:1 and 6:1. Therefore, an excess of glycerol does not result in a significant increase in monoglyceride yield within the experimental range tested. The main reaction product at 80°C was diglyceride. No increase in monoglyceride yield was observed by lowering the reaction temperature to 10°C.