Microwave-assisted synthesis of ethyl laurate using immobilized lipase: Optimization,mechanism and thermodynamic studies

Microwave-assisted synthesis of ethyl laurate using lauric acid and ethanol catalyzed by Fermase CALB has been investigated. The effect of operating parameters like molar ratio (lauric acid: ethanol), enzyme loading, temperature, and molecular sieves was systematically studied. A maximum conversion of 98.2% was obtained in 10 ​min compared to the conventional method, where the reaction required 4 ​h to achieve 92.4% conversion. The optimum parameters for the microwave-assisted synthesis were 1:2 ​M ratio of lauric acid to ethanol, 45 ​°C temperature, 1.8% (w/w) enzyme amount, 1.5% (w/w) molecular sieves. The enzyme lipase was reused for up to seven successive cycles under microwave irradiation. The thermodynamic study was carried out to determine various thermodynamic parameters for the reaction. The esterification mechanism was proposed, and the impact of microwave irradiation on the immobilized enzyme after several reuse was studied by scanning electron microscopy.