Immobilization of Candida rugosa lipase on MCM-41 for the transesterification of cotton seed oil.

Present study demonstrated the preparation of MCM-41 as a support for the immobilization of Candida rugosa lipase by the physical adsorption technique. The lipase immobilized MCM-41 has been characterized by scanning electron microscopic and FTIR techniques. At pH 6, maximum lipase immobilization (250 mg/g) on MCM support has been observed and the immobilized lipase was employed as biocatalyst for the transesterification of the cotton seed oil with methanol. The pH of the reaction medium, reaction temperature and methanol/oil molar ratio have been optimized to achieve a maximum 98±3% fatty acid methyl esters yield (FAMEs)from cotton seed oil.