Jet cutter as tool to immobilize lipase for biodiesel production

Resumo

The use of lipases as a biocatalyst for industrial applications is an interesting route due to technical aspects but also to reduce environmental impacts caused by the use of chemical catalysts. Gel immobilization of the enzyme allows its reuse and avoids contamination of the product with residual portions of free enzyme. However, a typical technique available for enzyme immobilization is based on dripping driven by gravity which produces big particles and low rate of production. The reduction of size can improve the mass transfer by increasing the contact area. Thus, aiming to increase the rate of particles production and reduce the size of particles, the objective of this work was to encapsulate lipase, using a tool designed to cut the jet produced by pumping, called as Jet Cutter.