원문정보
초록
영어
Concerns about the pollution prevention (P2) and global warming, as well as the depletion of fossil fuel reservoir necessitate search for renewable energy sources. Mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids, termed as biodiesel, are promising alternative to petroleum-based fuel. They are produced from triacylglycerides contained in plant oils, animal fats, and waste oils through transesterification with alcohols. Currently, biodiesel is commercially produced by chemical processes using acid or alkali as catalysts. However, there are several problems, mainly caused by the catalysts, such as generation of undesirable byproducts by saponification, corrosion, and contamination of products by catalysts. To avoid the negative effects and to make the process more economic, researchers have been trying to replace the chemical process with biological one using lipases as catalysts. Use of lipase is a great viable method for the production of esters from different oil sources. Research on this topic is still in progress due to the enzyme’s flexibility and adaptability to new processes. The bioprocess, however, is not yet competitive enough, mainly due to the enzyme’s vulnerability to alcohols, low productivity, and high cost. In this presentation, recent efforts to tackle these problems are reviewed and other technologies worth consideration are introduced.