on the
production of palm esters was investigated in
2 L stirred-tank reactor (STR). The reaction mixture was prepared
according to the optimum reaction condition
obtained from small scale (0.5 L STR) (Keng et al.,
2005). The effect of mixing and enzyme particle suspension
as a function of different impeller designs and speeds on
the percentage yield and productivity of the alcoholysis
reaction of palm esters in STR was investigated. The shear
effect caused by the agitators on the biocatalyst as well as
the operational stability of Lipozyme RM IM was also
taken into consideration. Subsequently, scale-up of the
process to a larger volume (75 L STR) was carried out
using a constant impeller tip speed approach. The optimum
condition of reaction synthesis and physical process
attained from the previous study (Keng et al., 2005) and
from the 2 L STR were used to study the reaction performance
in 75 L STR.