Efficient simultaneous production of biodiesel and glycerol carbonate via statistical optimization

The purpose of this study was to simultaneously produce biodiesel and glycerol carbonate. Glycerol carbonate is a high-value material that could be obtained from glycerol. Response surface methodology was used to perform optimization of simultaneous enzymatic production of biodiesel and glycerol carbonate. Independent factors for optimization of simultaneous enzymatic production included enzyme concentration, a molar ratio of dimethyl carbonate to soybean oil, and reaction temperature. The levels of satisfaction with the production reaction model for biodiesel and glycerol carbonate were high, 0.994 and 1, respectively. The optimum condition for simultaneous production was 116.76 g/L enzyme concentration, 9.27:1 molar ratio, and 52.56 °C reaction temperature. Under the optimum condition, biodiesel 96.3% and glycerol carbonate 99.7% were produced at the same time.