A Comparison of Monoglyceride Production from Microalgaelipids and Rapeseed Oil Catalyzed by Metal Oxides

Abstract

This manuscript reports for the first time a heterogenous catalytic route to monoglycerides (MAGs) from microalgal oil. Microalgae is an important biomass source with high‐value applications, such as food ingredients with essential fatty acids. To date, the glycerolysis of microalgae has only been investigated for a microbial oil (Schizochytrium sp.) using enzyme catalysis. However, the use of enzymes on a large scale is currently economically impeditive and requires highly selective lipases. In this study, metal oxides were screened and the reaction conditions optimized for rapeseed oil. The optimized conditions were then used to investigate the production of MAGs from Scenedesmus sp. microalga. The most promising catalyst was found to be MgO/KOH, which gave a 44% yield. Comparing two reaction systems (low temperature 70°C/atmospheric pressure and high temperature at 200°C/20 bar), it was found that the latter has a superior performance. Due to the stability of the product in air, the presence of an inert atmosphere is essential to achieve high yields.