This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Crean un catalizador híbrido más eficaz para la producción de biocombustibles

It could use like biocatalizador for the production of biodiesel of way more efficient, according to the team of researchers

They create a hybrid catalyst more effective for the production of biofuels

Editorial Interempresas09/10/2012

Scientists of the Institute of Chemical Technology, mixed centre of the Universitat Politècnica of València and the Upper Council of Scientific Investigations (CSIC), together with researchers of the University of Calabria (Italy), have developed a new type of organic hybrid catalysts-inorganic through the encapsulation of enzymes in the breast of nanoesferas hollow delimited by a porous cover of silica, which could be employed like biocatalizadores for the production of biodiesel of way more efficient. The work publishes in the prestigious magazine Catalysis Today.

Recently, the scientific community has begun to investigate in innovative methods to produce biodiesel. The biodiesel is a liquid biofuel that obtains from natural lipids like vegetal oils or animal fats, recycled or no, by means of industrial chemical processes, and that applies in the manufacturing of total or partial substitutes of the diesel obtained of the oil. The main problem related with the production of this clean and renewable power is that the prime matter (vegetal oils) necessary for the process of production has to to be of high quality (low content in sour grasos free, water and triglycerides insaturados) and that the oils with these properties are expensive and more appropriate for the human consumption.

The possibility to use raw materials cheaper requires also of the employment of alternative catalysts to the hydroxides used at present, that show, besides, an efficiency reduced in the production of biodiesel (performances and low selectivities, as well as high consumptions of catalyst). Following this approach, the processes of production of biodiesel catalizado by enzymes, stabilised in the breast of porous matrices, have been tested recently and suppose a promising and attractor trucks alternative.

Avelino Corma, professor of investigation of the CSIC, explains us that “the problem that arises to the hour to prepare a biocatalizador is the preservation of the stability and the activity of the enzyme inmovilizada. Generally, the half in that inmoviliza the enzyme is of the maximum importance to be able to preserve his active and natural forming. Following this reasoning, we think that trap an enzyme in a half natural aqueous surrounded with a membrane silícea would have to be possible”.

The researchers of the Institute of Chemical Technology have been able of sintetizar a solid of organic matter-inorganic with spherical form in which there is an enzyme like active compound encapsulada. “The organic part of this nanoesfera has an isolated lipase of the fungus Rizhomucor miehei like enzyme. The nanoesfera is covered by a porous shell of inorganic silica that isolates, protects and stabilises the molecules bioactivas of the interior. Besides, the quantity of lipase and silica used during the procedure of immobilisation have optimised with the end to obtain a biocatalizador heterogeneous, active and stable. These new nanoesferas hybrid have been tested for catalizar typical chemical reactions of the production of biodiesel, and have been able to conserve his activity after five cycles of reaction, showing that his efficiency catalizadora is upper to the one of the free enzyme. Now it remains to employ this finding in a potential industrial application”, explains the professor Corma.