Hydrolysis of Olive Oil with Immobilized Lipase in a Tapered Column Reactor

Lipase was immobilized in ion exchange resin and then used in the hydrolysis of olive oil to produce fatty acids and glycerol. The time course of hydrolysis of olive oil was investigated in a stirred tank reactor using both of the free and immobilized lipases to find the yield of activity of immobilized enzyme. Continuous hydrolysis of olive oil was also carried out in a tapered column reactor and a cylindrical column reactor with a bottom ID of 10 mm at different upward flow rates. It can be known from experimental results that the degree of hydrolysis of olive oil in the tapered column reactor is moderately better than that in the cylindrical column reactor, the pressure drop in the tapered column reactor is much smaller than that in the cylindrical column reactor.