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Abstract
Fatty acid alkyl esters, also called biodiesel, are environmentally friendly and show
great potential as an alternative liquid fuel. Biodiesel is produced by transesterification
of oils or fats with chemical catalysts or lipase. Immobilized lipase as the biocatalyst
draws high attention because that process is "greener". This article reviews the current
status of biodiesel production with immobilized lipase, including various lipases,
immobilization methods, various feedstocks, lipase inactivation caused by short chain
alcohols and large scale industrialization. Adsorption is still the most widely employed
method for lipase immobilization. There are two kinds of lipase used most frequently
especially for large scale industrialization. One is Candida antartica lipase immobilized
on acrylic resin, and the other is Candida sp. 99-125 lipase immobilized on inexpensive
textile membranes. However, to further reduce the cost of biodiesel production, new
immobilization techniques with higher activity and stability still need to be explored.
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