Promising Abilities of Fungal Lipases of Aspergilli Strains in the Production of Biodiesel from Plant Oil Wastes

Abstract

Currently, there exists a significant need for alternate sources of petroleum fuel due to escalating environmental challenges and diminishing global oil reserves. Biodiesel, an environmentally friendly and sustainable fuel, is one of the most adaptable alternatives to petroleum fuel. This study’s goals were to get biodiesel from three oils (olive, palm, and jojoba) and see how well lipases work as biocatalysts for the esterification process. The production of biodiesel was obtained from two fungal strains, Aspergillus niger MH079049.1 and A. niger MH078571.1, and four distinct fatty acids and four organic solvents were used. The study determined the optimal reaction conditions to be a reaction time of 24 h, an enzyme concentration of 3 mL, and an oil-to-methanol ratio of 3:1. This study showed that lipase works well in making biodiesel, with an impressive esterification yield of 99%, and the highest level of productivity was attained when olive oil and jojoba oils were subjected to an incubation time of 18 h and 22 h, respectively, in the presence of palm oil.