Modeling and Optimization of Lipase-Catalyzed Partial Hydrolysis for Diacylglycerol Production in Packed Bed Reactor.

Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the process variables namely packed bed height (cm) and flow rates (ml/min) on diacylglycerol (DAG) production via partial hydrolysis of palm oil using immobilized Rhizomucor miehei lipase in packed bed reactor (PBR). Quadratic models were successfully developed for both DAG_(y) and unhydrolyzed triacylglycerol (_(un)TAG) with determination coefficient ( R²) of 0.9931 and 0.9986, respectively coupled with insignificant lack of fit ( p > 0.05). Optimal conditions for DAG synthesis were evaluated to be 10 cm packed bed height and 3.8 ml/min flow rate. Immobilized enzyme can be reused up to 10 times without significant changes in enzymatic activity. The partial hydrolysis under studied was found to be mass transfer-controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]