Castor bean lipase as a biocatalyst in the esterification of fatty acids to glycerol

Castor bean lipase was investigated as biocatalyst in the esterification of fatty acids to glycerol. For this purpose pressed seeds were pretreated with phosphate-citrate buffer solution at optimal preincubation time and pH and used as a lipase source in esterification of fatty acids with glycerol. The effect of process parameters in the esterification, i.e., molar ratios of reactants, temperature, water content of glycerol and concentration of lipase, were determined by using pretreated castor bean.