Potential of using a fungal lipase for biodiesel production from hempseed oils

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Northland Biodiesel Marketing Inc. of Thunder Bay (Ontario) has interest in the development of biodiesel in Canada with regard to feedstock, conversion processes and scalability of suitable regional feedstocks. The company seeks ways in which research can simplify processes for the transesterification of plant seed oils into biofuels (biodiesel) that can substitute for petroleum fuels for motor transport. Biocatalysts such as enzymes (lipases) have distinct economic and process advantages over chemical-catalysed transesterification reactions in biodiesel production. Northland Biodiesel is particularly interested in the potential of exploring and exploiting biodiesel derived from the seed oils of the hemp plant; a cash crop suitable for cultivation in the northern Ontario region. The objective of this proposal is to use a novel fungal lipase from Botryosphaeria ribis (EC-01) known to possess unique properties and specificities suitable for industrial applications in transesterification reactions of plant oils. The research proposed will explore the applicability of this lipase for the production of biodiesel using hempseed oil as the feedstock for bioconversion. Hempseed oils will be converted through lipase-catalysed hydrolysis and methanol esterification reactions (transesterification) to methyl esters of fatty acids (constitutes biodiesel). Conditions for transesterification of hempseed oil by lipase will be examined and optimized using statistical designed experiments. This will establish the process by which lipase can efficiently transform hempseed oil into biodiesel, and will govern future scale-up for commercial production.