The present study evaluates the potential use of ultrasound irradiation to synthesize decyl oleate using Fermase CALBTM10000 under the solvent-free system (SFS). The optimal condition to achieve a maximum yield of 97.14% was found to be 1:2 oleic acid:decanol ratio, 1.8% (w/w) enzyme loading, 45°C temperature, 200 rpm agitation speed, 50 W power input, 50% duty cycle, 22 kHz frequency and reaction time of 25 minutes. The thermodynamic study was done to determine the change in entropy, Gibb's free energy, and change in enthalpy at various temperatures. The experimental results and kinetic study showed that the reaction followed ordered bi-bi model with kinetic parameters as rate of reaction (V max ) = 35.02 M/min/g catalyst, Michaelis constant for acid (K A ) = 34.47 M, Michaelis constant for alcohol (K B ) = 3.31 M, Inhibition constant (Ki) = 4542.4 M and sum of square error (SSE) = 0.000334. The application of ultrasound irradiation combined with biocatalyst and the absence of solvent intensified the process compared to the traditional stirring method using hexane as solvent.
Keywords: biocatalysis; cosmetic ester; decyl oleate; esterification; ultrasound.