Production of Methyl Ester from Oedogonium sp Oil Using Immobilized Isolated Novel Bacillus sp Lipase

In this study, the production of methyl ester from Oedogonium sp. oil was studied using an isolated thermo-, solvent-, and sono-tolerant Bacillus sp. lipase immobilized on celite. The application of ultrasound during the reaction reduced the reaction time significantly. The effect of sonication time, enzyme dosage, water content, methanol/oil molar ratio, and solvent addition on the performance of transesterification was studied. The reaction time required in the presence and absence of ultrasound was 2 and 40 h, respectively. Under optimum conditions, 75 and 82% fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yields were obtained for normal and ultrasound-assisted transesterification, respectively. The reusability of the immobilized enzyme after five cycles did not show much loss in enzyme activity, and this indicates that the isolated enzyme was not affected as a result of the application of ultrasound.