Preparation of diacylglycerol by lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis in the presence of polar adsorption materials

Diacylglycerol (DAG) is a functional oil used extensively in various industries. Glycerolysis of a natural oil with glycerol was widely employed for DAG preparation. Numerous studies have demonstrated that glycerol in the reaction affects lipase performance. We hypothesized that adsorption of glycerol onto an adsorbent might decrease effect of glycerol on lipase activity. To test the hypothesis, the role of silica gel in the enzymatic glycerolysis for DAG preparation was first investigated. The results showed that four type of lipases had better performances in the system containing silica gel. Subsequently, polar adsorbent type was screened. The results indicated that Amberlite FPA54 resin modified with tertiary amine groups significantly improved catalytic efficiency of Lipozyme TL IM. Under optimized conditions, DAG content in the glycerolysis products reached 51.3 %. A novel finding in this study is that type and polarity of adsorbent have significant effect on catalytic performance of lipase in the glycerolysis. [Display omitted] •51.3 % DAG was obtained from glycerolysis product after optimization.•Polar materials significantly enhanced reaction efficiency of enzymatic glycerolysis.•The resins with tertiary amine group were the best materials for the glycerolysis.•Addition of ion exchange resin FPA54 led to the highest product yield.