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Updated: May 27, 2026

Ultrasonic-Assisted Preparation of Biodiesel Products from Vegetable Oils
Published on: April 19, 2024
Ultrasound assisted lipase catalyzed synthesis of poly-6-hydroxyhexanoate
A M Gumel1, M S M Annuar, Y Chisti
1Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Abstract:
Ultrasonic irradiation greatly improved the Candida antarctica lipase B mediated ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone to poly-6-hydroxyhexanoate in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetraflouroborate. Compared to the conventional nonsonicated reaction, sonication improved the monomer conversion by 63% and afforded a polymer product of a narrower molecular weight distribution and a higher degree of crystallinity. Under sonication, the polydispersity index of the product was ~1.44 compared to a value of ~2.55 for the product of the conventional reaction. With sonication, nearly 75% of the monomer was converted to product, but the conversion was only ~16% for the reaction carried out conventionally. Compared to conventional operation, sonication enhanced the rate of polymer propagation by >2-fold and the turnover number of the lipase by >3-fold.
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