Читать книгу Biodiesel Technology and Applications - Группа авторов - Страница 37

Currently, the use of fossil fuels is on its verge because of the dependency of our transportation and main industries on it. If its usage goes with even at the same pace, there are great chances of its shortage due to depletion in reservoirs in very near future. So, there is a strict need to divert toward alternate sources like biofuels which not only overcome the shortage of fuel but also environment-friendly. Biodiesel is the most widely used biofuel due to its vast use from direct fuel to a lubricating agent. The production and use of biodiesel are restricted to limited countries but there is a need to broaden its use worldwide. The barriers which constrain its worldwide use are mainly related to biodiesel production cost which can be reduced with optimization of the production process by selection of preferable feedstock, reaction conditions, type of catalyst used, enzymes for catalysis, and many other factors.

Researchers are making their full effort to construct a cost-effective bio-diesel production process. Oils extracted from various sources are used as a substrate or feedstock for biodiesel production, but microbial oil extracted from microalgae is used at first place due to low cost, easy, and quick production when compared with plant and animal oils. However, biodiesel produced using animal oil act as a good lubricating agent along with good oxidative stability. Biocatalysis involving enzymatic biodiesel production via lipase enzyme is considered a low-price process as compared to other ways. Lipase enzyme is preferably used as biocatalysis because of its easy separation and reusability.

There are many factors like acyl receptors, water, and temperature that have a serious impact on enzymatic transesterification and great research have been done for to optimization of these factors to make the process easy and affordable. Lipases from a broad range of sources immobilized by different techniques on a variety of supports have their own resulting impact in biodiesel production process. However, the use of whole-cell immobilization or combination of lipase with optimized reaction conditions like temperature, time of reaction, and pH makes the process industrially favorable. Still, there exists a space for improvement to make the biodiesel production process affordable and easy to conduct.