Lipases Immobilization for Effective Synthesis of Biodiesel Starting from Coffee Waste Oils

Immobilized lipases were applied to the enzymatic conversion of oils from spent coffee ground into biodiesel. Two lipases were selected for the study because of their conformational behavior analysed by Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations taking into account that immobilization conditions affect conformational behavior of the lipases and ultimately, their efficiency upon immobilization. The enzymatic synthesis of biodiesel was initially carried out on a model substrate (triolein) in order to select the most promising immobilized biocatalysts. The results indicate that oils can be converted quantitatively within hours. The role of the nature of the immobilization support emerged as a key factor affecting reaction rate, most probably because of partition and mass transfer barriers occurring with hydrophilic solid supports. Finally, oil from spent coffee ground was transformed into biodiesel with yields ranging from 55%–72%. The synthesis is of particular interest in the perspective of developing sustainable processes for the production of bio-fuels from food wastes and renewable materials. The enzymatic synthesis of biodiesel is carried out under mild conditions; with stoichiometric amounts of substrates (oil and methanol) and the removal of free fatty acids not required.