Immobilization of lipase in biochar obtained from Manihot esculenta Crantz

The immobilized enzymes are catalysts of great industrial interest, as it unites the advantages of heterogeneous catalysis with the high selectivity and mild operation conditions of the enzymes. Biochar is a porous carbonaceous material, which have characteristic that it makes a strong candidate to incorporate enzymes in its structure. Another relevant fact is the possibility of changes and adaptations by synthesis condition in the biochar structure due to the application needs. In this context, the objective of this work was the study of immobilization of lipase (type II, code l3126, Sigma Aldrich) in a biochar produced by pyrolysis (600oC) from an agricultural residue called cassava stump. It was evaluated different enzymatic concentrations (0.1, 0.25 and 0.5 g/L) in order to determine the affinity between the enzyme and biochar. The obtained results showed that the enzyme studied could be easily immobilized in the biochar, obtaining as immobilization yield 61.2% when using the highest concentration of enzyme.