Enzymatic preparation of fatty acid esters of sugar alcohols by condensation in acetone using a packed-bed reactor with immobilized Candida antarctica lipase

Abstract

Mono- and dilauroyl arabitols, ribitols, xylitols and sorbitols were synthesized batchwise or continuously at 50°C or 60°C by condensation catalyzed by an immobilized Candida antarctica lipase in acetone. Continuous production was realized using a system where a column packed with sugar alcohol and a packed-bed reactor with the immobilized lipase were connected in series. The concentrations of the mono- and dilauroyl esters of each sugar alcohol became almost constant at mean residence times of 15 min or longer in the packed-bed reactor. The monolauroyl, monomyristoyl and monopalmytoyl arabitols, ribitols, xylitols and sorbitols were continuously produced using the reactor system at 60°C, and the productivity was in the range of 1.3–2.0 kg L⁻¹-reactor·day except for the fatty acid esters of sorbitol, the productivity of which was 0.6–0.8 kg L⁻¹-reactor·day.

• Condensation
• Fatty acid ester
• Lipase
• Packed-bed reactor
• Sugar alcohol