The transesterification of phytosterol and soybean oil was performed using Novozym 435 in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2). The transesterification reaction was conducted in soybean oil containing 5-25% phytosterol at 55-95 °C and free-water solvent. The effects of temperature, reaction time, phytosterol concentration, lipase dosage and reaction pressure on the conversion rate of transesterification were investigated. The optimal reaction conditions were the reaction temperature (85 °C), reaction time (1 h), phytosterol concentration (5%), reaction pressure (8 Mpa) and lipase dosage (1%). The highest conversion rate of 92% could be achieved under the optimum conditions. Compared with the method of lipase-catalyzed transesterification of phytosterol and soybean oil at normal pressure, the transesterification in SC-CO2 reduced significantly the reaction temperature and reaction time.
Keywords: Enzymatic catalysis; Phytosterol esters; Soybean oil; Supercritical CO2; Transesterification.