title: Solvent-free enzymatic production of high quality cetyl esters.
abstract: A solvent-free biocatalytic process for the synthesis of high quality cetyl laurate, myristate, palmitate and stearate has been optimized. This enzymatic procedure follows the fundamental principles of the Green Chemistry and lead to sustainable products, which can be labeled as natural and conform to the principal requirements for its use in high value-added goods. The four esters selected are the main components of spermaceti, a mixture of waxes very appreciated in cosmetic and pharmacy because of its physical properties and emolliency, which was formerly extracted from the head of the sperm whales. In this paper, the influence of the amount of biocatalyst, the commercially available Novozym(®) 435, and the temperature were studied in an open-air batch reactor before carrying out the synthesis in a high performance vacuum reactor with dry nitrogen input to shift the equilibrium towards product formation. Under optimal conditions, conversion was higher than 98.5 %. The characterization of the enzymatic cetyl esters puts in evidence that these are ultra-pure compounds, which have similar properties to the ones obtained through the conventional industrial processes with the extra benefit of being environmentally friendly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30071, Murcia, Spain. mar.serrano@um.es.
authors.forename: Mar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Serrano-Arnaldos
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30071, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: María Fuensanta
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Máximo-Martín
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30071, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: María Claudia
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Montiel-Morte
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30071, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Salvadora
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ortega-Requena
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30071, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gómez-Gómez
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30071, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Josefa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bastida-Rodríguez
mesh_terms: D004800:Enzymes, Immobilized; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D008049:Lipase / Q000737:chemistry*; D010168:Palmitates / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004800:Enzymes, Immobilized; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D010168:Palmitates; C006957:cetyl palmitate; C093667:Novozyme 435; D008049:Lipase
keywords: Candida antarctica lipase; Immobilized enzymes; Solvent-free; Spermaceti; Wax esters