Dimethyl carbonate-mediated lipid extraction and lipase-catalyzed in situ transesterification for simultaneous preparation of fatty acid methyl esters and glycerol carbonate from Chlorella sp. KR-1 biomass.

Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) and glycerol carbonate were simultaneously prepared from Chlorella sp. KR-1 containing 40.9% (w/w) lipid using a reactive extraction method with dimethyl carbonate (DMC). DMC was used as lipid extraction agent, acyl acceptor for transesterification of the extracted triglycerides, substrate for glycerol carbonate synthesis from glycerol, and reaction medium for the solvent-free reaction system. For 1g of biomass, 367.31 mg of FAMEs and 16.73 mg of glycerol carbonate were obtained under the optimized conditions: DMC to biomass ratio of 10:1 (v/w), water content of 0.5% (v/v), and Novozyme 435 to biomass ratio of 20% (w/w) at 70°C for 24h. The amount of residual glycerol was only in the range of 1-2.5mg. Compared to conventional method, the cost of FAME production with the proposed technique could be reduced by combining lipid extraction with transesterification and omitting the extraction solvent recovery process.