Epoxidación químico-enzimática de aceite de limoneno

BRANDOLÍN, SALVADOR E.; JOSÉ ANTONIO SCILIPOTI; MAGARIO, IVANA

Congreso; XXIII Congreso Argentino y XI Congreso MERCOSUR de Catálisis; 2023

The epoxidation of essential oils such as limonene and other unsaturated terpenoid compounds has attracted interest due to their insecticidal and antimicrobial properties. Chemical-enzymatic epoxidation through the generation of peracids in situ allows for the formation of stable oxirane rings in these oils, facilitating their binding to polymeric matrices. The objective of this study is to search for operational conditions that maximize efficiency and stability for the reuse of immobilized commercial lipase in the epoxidation reaction of limonene oil. Toluene and hexane were used as reaction solvents, compared to solvent-free assays as an environmentally friendly alternative. It was found that the solvent-free system with octanoic acid exhibits the highest reaction rate, thus assays were conducted with different feed rates of hydrogen peroxide solution to elucidate reaction conditions that promote catalyst reuse.