The ovicidal properties of various vegetable, animal, and mineral oils were tested in an effort to develop a supplementary method of control for the codling moth and the oriental fruit moth. The reasons for undertaking this problem are twofold: first, the codling moth has become exceedingly difficult to hold in check; and, second, in the case of the oriental fruit moth there is no satisfactory method of control. The studies could be carried on with both insects because they are very closely related and also, because the oriental fruit moth is a pest of apples as well as peaches. / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1985 M375 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1985 V36 / Master of Science

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

O chocolate é conhecido mundialmente, proveniente do fruto do cacaueiro (Theobroma cacao) normalmente consumido em forma de barra, mas também podendo ser usado de inúmeras formas como coberturas, recheios dentre outras. Um importante componente na produção do chocolate é a gordura utilizada, uma vez que esta é responsável pela textura, brilho e características organolépticas do produto. O objetivo deste trabalho foi utilizar a manteiga de cupuaçu (proveniente do fruto da Theobroma grandiflorum) na elaboração de chocolate amargo. Para tanto a manteiga de cacau foi substituída de forma parcial e total. Foram desenvolvidas duas formulações de chocolate padrão com liquor de cacau (P1) e com cacau em pó (P2), e quatro formulações com substituição parcial da manteiga de cacau por manteiga de cupuaçu a partir de P2(F1 e F2) e de P1 (F3 e F4). As amostras elaboradas e os ingredientes (líquor de cacau, cacau em pó, manteiga de cacau e manteiga de cupuaçu) foram avaliadas por análise térmica (DSC-Differential Scanning Calorimetry), reologia, tamanho de partícula, composição em ácidos graxos e em triacilgliceróis, índice de temperagem e índice de resfriamento, bem como testes de acompanhamento de 112 dias como cor, atividade de água e textura. A manteiga de cupuaçu apresentou maior quantidade de ácido oleico quando comparada com a manteiga de cacau, aproximadamente 11,5%, e também características reológicas diferentes dos padrões: tensões iniciais variaram de 3,4 ± 0,3 a 7,9 ± 2,0 Pa para as amostras e 2,9 ± 1,4 a 6,2 ± 0,7 Pa para os padrões; viscosidade de 1,6 ± 0,1 a 2,9 ± 0,4 Pa*s para as amostras e 1,9 ± 0,8 a 2,9 ± 0,9 Pa*s para os padrões; tamanho de partícula das amostras de 21 ± 2 a 22 ± 2 &#181;m, padrões de 20 ± 2 a 34 ± 4 &#181;m. Durante os 112 dias de estudo de prateleira: Aw variou de 0,405 ± 0,03 a 0,424 ± 0,02 nas amostras e 0,399 ± 0,03 no padrão; textura variou de 16,3 ± 1,2 a 31,6 ± 2,0 N para as amostras e 25,9 ± 3,0 a 28,6 ± 7,2 N para os padrões; WI variou de 24,1 ± 0,6 a 25,4 ± 0,3 para as amostras e 23,0 ± 0,4 a 23,9 ± 0,8 para os padrões; &#916;E variou de 0,4 a 2,2 para as amostras e de 0,5 a 1,2 para os padrões. Concluiu-se que: A variação do líquor de cacau para cacau em pó acarretou aumentando do tempo total de processo em aproximadamente 15 min. Os chocolates com maior teor de manteiga de cupuaçu apresentaram aumento em triacilglicerol C54, com redução de POP e POS. A faixa de fusão dos chocolates com maiores porcentagens de manteiga de cupuaçu (F3 e F4) foi maior do que para chocolates formulados apenas com manteiga de cacau (P1 e P2). A manteiga de cupuaçu tem relação direta com a queda da tensão inicial e da viscosidade (sem diferença significativa, p<0,05) nos chocolates produzidos. O baixo ponto de fusão do ácido oleico contido na manteiga de cupuaçu alterou a temperatura final e o valor do índice de temperagem nas amostras com maior teor de manteiga de cupuaçu (F3 e F4). / The chocolate is known worldwide, coming from the fruit of the cacao (Theobroma cacao) normally consumed in the form of a bar, but also can be used in countless ways like coverings, fillings among others. An important component in the production of chocolate is the fat used, since it is responsible for the texture, brightness and organoleptic characteristics of the product. The objective of this work was to use cupuassu butter (from the fruit of Theobroma grandiflorum) in elaboration of bitter chocolate. For this purpose, the cocoa butter was partially and totally replaced. Two formulations of standard chocolate with cocoa liquor (P1) and with cocoa powder (P2) were developed, and four formulations with partial replacement of cocoa butter by cupuassu butter from P2 (F1 and F2) and P1 (F3 and F4). The elaborated samples and the ingredients (cocoa liquor, cocoa powder, cocoa butter and cupuassu butter) were evaluated by DSC, rheology, particle size, fatty acid composition and triacylglycerol, temperature index and cooling index, as well as follow-up tests of 112 days such as color, water activity and texture. The cupuassu butter presented a higher amount of oleic acid when compared to cocoa butter, approximately 11.5%, and also different rheological characteristics of the standards: initial tensions ranged from 3.4 ± 0.3 to 7.9 ± 2, 0 Pa for the samples and 2.9 ± 1.4 to 6.2 ± 0.7 Pa for the standards; viscosity of 1.6 ± 0.1 to 2.9 ± 0.4 Pa*s for the samples and 1.9 ± 0.8 to 2.9 ± 0.9 Pa*s for the standards; sample particle size from 21 ± 2 to 22 ± 2 &#181;m, patterns from 20 ± 2 to 34 ± 4 &#181;m. During the 112 days of shelf study: Aw ranged from 0.405 ± 0.03 to 0.424 ± 0.02 in the samples and 0.399 ± 0.03 in the standard; texture ranged from 16.3 ± 1.2 to 31.6 ± 2.0 N for the samples and 25.9 ± 3.0 to 28.6 ± 7.2 N for the standards; WI ranged from 24.1 ± 0.6 to 25.4 ± 0.3 for the samples and 23.0 ± 0.4 to 23.9 ± 0.8 for the standards; &#916;E ranged from 0.4 to 2.2 for the samples and from 0.5 to 1.2 for the standards. It was concluded that: The variation of cocoa liquor to cocoa powder increased the total process time by approximately 15 min. The chocolates with higher content of cupuassu butter presented increase in triacylglycerol C54, with reduction of POP and POS. The melting range of chocolates with higher percentages of cupuassu butter (F3 and F4) was higher than for chocolates formulated with cocoa butter alone (P1 and P2). Cupuassu butter is directly related to the drop in initial tension and viscosity (without significant difference, p <0.05) in the chocolates produced. The low melting point of the oleic acid contained in the cupuassu butter altered the final temperature and the temperature index value in the samples with the highest cupuassu butter content (F3 and F4).

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering September 2017 / Owing to the ongoing advancement in technology, escalating population sizes and urbanization rate, fossil fuels (coal, petroleum oil and natural gas) remain attractive as an energy source to run most of the daily operations. Consequent to heavy consumption of fossil fuels, the world faces detrimental challenges such as future energy security and environmental concerns. Combustion of fossil fuels results in emission of greenhouse gases such as CO2 and SO2 thereby contributing to global warming and acid rain problems. These alarming challenges drive the need for exploration of alternative energy sources to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Presented in this dissertation is a study of biodiesel, a biodegradable, non-toxic and environmentally benign energy source as an alternative to petroleum-based fuels. Chemically known as fatty acid alkyl ester (FAAE), biodiesel is commonly produced from vegetable oils or animal fats in addition to methanol by a catalysed transesterification reaction. Currently, biodiesel is more expensive than petroleum diesel due to high operation costs incurred during the production process. Despite the high prices, biodiesel production continues to grow on an industrial scale across the world as supported by policy measures and biofuel targets. Researchers have identified two main factors that contribute to high costs of biodiesel production; 1) type of feedstock and 2) type of catalyst used in the production process. Conventional methods of production use edible oils as feedstock. This becomes unjustified due to the potential price hikes in the food market owing to the prospective competition between fuel and food industries. As a result, numerous researchers reported on the use of cheap and non- edible feedstock oils such as waste cooking oil and animal fat. However, the challenge with the use of non-edible oils is their high content of free fatty acids (FFA) which is unattractive for a smooth transesterification process, more especially when homogeneous base catalysts are used. Homogeneous base catalysts are widely used in current industrial biodiesel production methods because they yield faster transesterification processes due to increased reaction rates. However, these types of catalysts are much sensitive to FFA, so when high FFA content feedstock is used, a saponification reaction occurs which consequently reduces the yield of biodiesel. An additional process unit is required to reduce the FFA content via esterification process prior to the main transesterification reaction. Furthermore, since the reaction mixture is homogeneously combined with the product, an additional process unit for product separation is required to recover the resulting biodiesel from the mixture, translating into additional production costs. Researchers are currently exploring the use of heterogeneous catalysts, which tend to avoid the saponification reaction and reduce the need for an esterification reaction used as oil pre-treatment step to reduce FFA content. This dissertation is therefore dedicated to attaining a economic and environmentally attractive process for biodiesel production using cheap non-edible beef tallow oil (BTO) and a heterogeneous hydroxy sodalite (H-SOD) catalyst. Some industrial operations such as zeolite manufacturing processes produce a low grade H-SOD as by products, which is in turn disposed as chemical waste and therefore induces ground water contamination concerns. Exploration on the use of H-SOD as catalyst can largely contribute to the environmental protective measures as a waste management process among other benefits. The use of H-SOD is extensively reported in current research development on membrane separation; limited research reports on the use of H-SOD material to catalyse chemical processes are present in literature. For the first time in open literature, H-SOD is reported as the solid catalyst for biodiesel production in this dissertation. The investigative study commenced with a preliminary study to gauge the feasibility of using H-SOD as a catalyst where a batch transesterification of waste cooking oil (WCO) was studied. The reaction was conducted at 60 ᵒC for 12 h at a methanol-to-WCO ratio of 7.5:1 using 3 wt. % H-SOD catalyst with a particle size of just below 300 Å, the stirring intensity was kept at 1000 rpm to ensure uniform mixing throughout the reaction. The product obtained after the reaction was analysed using a pre-calibrated Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) described in Chapter 5, and the results demonstrated the possibility of catalysing a transesterification reaction using solid H-SOD. Under the same reaction conditions, the study was then extended to an investigation on the use of H-SOD to catalyze transesterification of BTO (4.53 % FFA) to FAME. The results showed that FAME was produced, at a yield of 39.6% and a conversion of 68.4%. Seeing that the yield and conversion obtained is relatively small compared to literature findings, the effect of some process conditions on the conversion and biodiesel yield were studied. The transesterification reaction was conducted with variations in the mixing intensity (700 – 1250 rpm), catalyst particle size (200 – 300 Å), reaction time (6 – 24 h) and reaction temperature (40-60 °C). The maximum performance of H-SOD catalyst for a transesterification of BTO was achieved with a conversion of 78.3% and biodiesel yield of 62.9% obtained at optimum conditions: a stirrer speed of 1000 rpm, with the smallest catalyst particle size of 200 Å at maximum temperature of 60 °C and 24 h reaction time. The values of activation energy, reaction constants and frequency factor obtained from the kinetic study were 0.0011 min-1, 5.52 x108 min-1 and 79.20 kJ/mol, respectively, and are within the range of the results reported in literature. As a result, solid H-SOD is recommended as a catalyst for the batch transesterification of BTO in a biodiesel production process. / MT2018

Thesis (M.Sc. (Eng.))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, 2016. / The world is gradually shifting to renewable clean energy and away from fossil fuels which are considered to have a finite reserve and have negative impact on the environment. Many alternatives have been developed including biofuels. Of the biofuel family, not all products are produced at the same level given the differences in technological advancements. Commonly produced biofuels which are commercialised are bioethanol and biodiesel. Given that a large number of vehicles operate using gasoline, there is a need to develop biogasoline specific processes to produce biogasoline. Bioethanol is used as a blending agent and has a drawback of engine corrosion. Biogasoline can be used for blending or to substitute gasoline in existing motors. The main objective of the project was to produce biogasoline from waste cooking oil using nano-particle catalyst for better performance. A Co-Mo/Al2O3 catalyst was synthesized and tested in two processes namely thermal cracking and hydrocracking. The waste cooking oil used in this study was pre-treated to remove salts and excess water prior to cracking process. Various analytical techniques were then used to characterize the catalyst, waste cooking oil and the products. Waste cooking oil was successfully pre-treated for salt removal with salt dropping from 13.18% to 4.37%. Effect of catalyst performance on thermal cracking proved to be minimal with temperature being the major factor in cracking. The catalyst performed better under hydrocracking with effects of catalyst calcination temperature and catalyst/oil ratio being more apparent as opposed to thermal cracking. Highest percentage biogasoline achieved under thermal cracking was 81.6% at a reaction temperature of 600°C. The highest percentage biogasoline achieved under hydrocracking was 75.7% at a reaction temperature of 210°C, using calcined catalyst at 700°C, catalyst/oil mass ratio of 1/75 and reaction time of 1hr. The biogasoline produced had low sulphur content. The highest sulphur containing product for hydrocracking was 7.4% and that for thermal cracking was 1.3%. It is recommended that the hydrocracking and thermal cracking methods be used for biogasoline production and that further research be done on the optimization of the biogasoline production process and synthesis of nano Co-Mo catalyst. / MT2016

As indústrias de alimentos têm procurado desenvolver novas tecnologias visando à obtenção de produtos mais saudáveis que possuam características sensoriais apreciadas pelo consumidor. Entre os produtos alimentícios, os óleos e gorduras podem ser destacados em função de sua importância nas características sensoriais. Neste contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi otimizar as condições reacionais e operacionais para reestruturação da gordura de leite por interesterificação enzimática com óleo de soja, empregando lipase de Rhizopus oryzae imobilizada em matriz híbrida orgânico-inorgânica sílica-álcool polivinílico (SiO2-PVA). Nas primeiras etapas do trabalho, o sistema imobilizado foi empregado na condução das reações em modo batelada em reator de tanque agitado, por 48 h. As condições reacionais que favoreceram a maximização do grau de interesterificação (GI), minimização do teor de ácidos graxos livres e obtenção de produto interesterificado com consistência na faixa ideal (200 a 800 g/cm2) foram: 65% de gordura de leite na mistura reacional, 500 unidades de atividade por grama de meio, 10% de umidade no derivado imobilizado e temperatura de reação de 45 ºC. Nessas condições, obteve-se um produto interesterificado com consistência de 385 gf/cm2. Em seguida, foram realizados testes de interesterificação da gordura de leite com óleo de soja em reator de tanque agitado operando em batelada com a adaptação de cesta (central ou lateral) no seu interior, para isolar o sistema imobilizado do contato com as partes mecânicas do agitador. A cesta na configuração central foi selecionada, uma vez que em 4h de reação permitiu a obtenção de um produto interesterificado com adequado valor de consistência (387 gf/cm2), mais elevado grau de interesterificação (8,01%) e mais baixo teor de ácidos graxos livres (4,61 %), além da maior facilidade no manuseio, se comparado à cesta lateral. Nos testes em reatores operando em modo contínuo, empregou-se a lipase de Rhizopus oryzae imobilizada em SiO2-PVA, por adsorção física. Foram efetuadas quatro reações em leito fixo, e avaliadas duas fontes comerciais distintas de gordura. A partir da interesterificação da gordura de leite oriunda de uma das marcas comerciais avaliadas, obteve-se um produto com consistência adequada (712,08 gf/cm2), em apenas 12 minutos. Finalmente, foram realizadas duas reações em leito fluidizado empregando-se a lipase comercial Novozym&reg; 435 e a lipase de Rhizopus oryzae imobilizada em SiO2-PVA. Os resultados revelaram que a lipase de Rhizopus oryzae representa um biocatalisador com potencial para modificação da gordura de leite, uma vez que apresentou maior redução percentual (52,31 %) da consistência dos produtos em relação à mistura reacional, comparativamente aos resultados observados empregando-se Novozym&reg; 435 (33,97 %) como biocatalisador. Os resultados obtidos foram satisfatórios e permitiram a determinação de condições de processo em diferentes tipos de biorreatores, contribuindo com o desenvolvimento de tecnologias nacionais de processos enzimáticos em escala industrial para a fabricação de produtos de interesse econômico e social. / The food industries have been interested to develop new technologies to obtain healthier products with sensory characteristics appreciated by the consumer. Among food products, oil and fat could be highlighted due to their importance in sensory characteristics. In this matter, the purpose of this study has been to optimize the reaction and operational conditions to restructure fat of milk by enzymatic interesterification with soybean oil, using immobilized lipase of Rhizopus oryzae in organic-inorganic polysiloxane-polyvinyl alcohol (SiO2-PVA) hybrid matrix. Firstly, the immobilized system has been used in the reactions on batch mode in stirred tank reactor for 48 hours. The reaction conditions that allowed the maximization of the interesterification degree, the minimization of the free fatty acids content and to have an interesterified product with the consistency in the target range (200 to 800 g/cm2) were: 65% milk fat in the reaction mixture, 500 units of activity per gram of medium, 10% humidity in the immobilized derivative and reaction temperature of 45 ºC. Under these conditions, an interesterified product with 385 gf/cm2 consistency was obtained. Following, tests of interesterification of milk fat with soybean oil were carried out in stirred tank reactor in batch mode and with a basket (central or lateral) inside the vessel aiming to isolate the immobilized system of the contact with mechanical parts of the mixer. The basket in the central configuration has been selected because, in 4 hours of reaction, it allowed to obtain an interesterified product with an adequate value of consistency (387.00 gf/cm2), the highest interesterification degree (8.01%) and the lowest free fatty acids content (4.61%), besides an easy handling compared to the lateral basket configuration. In tests on reactors operating in continuous mode, Rhizopus oryzae lipase immobilized by physical adsorption in SiO2-PVA was used. Four reactions have been performed in packed bed reactor, and two different commercial sources of fat have been evaluated. In the interesterification of milk fat of one of the commercial marks evaluated, a product with adequate consistency (712.08 gf/cm2) was obtained in just 12 minutes. Finally, two reactions in fluidized bed have been performed using the commercial lipase Novozym&reg; 435 and Rhizopus oryzae lipase immobilized in SiO2-PVA. The results showed the Rhizopus oryzae lipase is a biocatalyst with potential for modification of milk fat, considering its use resulted in a higher percentual reduction (52.31 %) of the products consistency in relation to the reaction mixture, comparatively to the observed when Novozym&reg; 435 (33.97 %) was used as biocatalyst. The obtained results were satisfactory and allowed the determination of process conditions in different kinds of bioreactors, besides to contribute to the development of national technologies of enzymatic processes in industrial scale for the manufacturing of products of economic and social interest.

A rapidez da passagem do estágio da bancada para a produção industrial, a rentabilidade econômica do projeto e o custo de investimento da implantação do projeto proposto são medidas da eficiência no desenvolvimento de processos químicos. Com o projeto de experimentos obtém-se uma redução de custo na etapa da experimentação, pela redução no número de experimentos, além de permitir um projeto de um produto com custo e qualidade otimizados. Neste trabalho, o projeto experimental ótimo é aplicado a dados experimentais da reação de interesterificação química da estearina de palma com óleo de linhaça. A gordura obtida pela reação de interesterificação é uma gordura isenta de gorduras trans e possui características nutricionais interessantes devido ao óleo de linhaça, que é a maior fonte do ácido graxo alfa-linolênico, um ácido graxo da família ômega-3. Os dados experimentais são utilizados para desenvolver modelos matemáticos aos quais é aplicada a otimização. Com isto, são previstos pontos ótimos, que são testados. Novos experimentos são realizados na vizinhança dos pontos ótimos. São aplicados os critérios de projeto experimental ótimo D-ótimo e G-ótimo para propor novas condições para a realização de experimentos. Uma vez obtidos estes pontos eles são adicionados aos modelos iniciais para a obtenção de novos parâmetros e é aplicada uma nova etapa de otimização. Nesta metodologia, a cada etapa são desenvolvidos e otimizados modelos matemáticos a partir dos dados experimentais, feita a verificação do ponto ótimo pela realização de experimentos e se esta não é confirmada, são aplicados os critérios de projeto experimental ótimo para a geração de novos pontos que trazem a melhor informação para ser adicionada aos modelos matemáticos. Este procedimento é repetido até a validação do ótimo. Neste trabalho são feitas duas iterações da metodologia onde pode ser observado a melhora de resultados obtidos a cada iteração. / The speed at which a process goes from laboratory to industrial scale, the economic rentability of the final project and the investment cost of the proposed project are measures of the efficiency in the development of chemical processes. With the experimental design a reduction of cost in the stage of the experimentation is obtained, by the reduction in the number of experiments, leading to the project of a product with optimum cost and quality. In this work, the application of optimal experimental design to data of the chemical interesterification reaction of palm stearin with linseed oil is presented. The fat produced by the interesterification reaction is free of trans fatty acid and has intreresting nutricionals characteristics due the linseed oil, which is the most important source of alpha-linolenic fatty acid, a omega-3 family fatty acid. The experimental data are used in order to develop mathematical models to which optimization is applied. New experiments, in the vicinity of the predicted optima, are performed and experimental optimal design, D-optimal and G-optimal, is applied in order to generate new conditions for experiments. Once these points are obtained, they are added to the initial models in order to obtain new parameters to which a new stage of optimization is applied. In this methodology, at each stage, mathematical models are developed and optimized from the experimental data and the optima are verified experimentally, and if they are not confirmed, the criteria of optimal experimental design is applied for the generation of new points that bring the best information to be added to the mathematical models. This procedure is repeated until the validation of the optimum. In this work two iterations of the methodology are implemented and the improvement of the results can be observed at each iteration.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito da interesterificação enzimática da gordura de leite com óleos de canola e castanha-do-pará nas propriedades do produto alimentício obtido, empregando lipase de Rhizopus oryzae imobilizada em sílica-álcool polivinílico (SiO2-PVA) como catalisador. Considerou-se desejável a obtenção de um produto que, ao incorporar parte dos ácidos graxos insaturados e essenciais presentes nos óleos, apresentasse boa espalhabilidade sob temperatura de refrigeração. Na primeira etapa as propriedades das matérias-primas foram determinadas aplicando técnicas oficiais de análise e verificou-se que todas apresentaram características de acordo com a legislação brasileira para uso em produtos alimentícios. Em seguida, foram testados dois métodos (adsorção física e ligação covalente) para efetuar a imobilização da lipase selecionada em SiO2-PVA e os resultados obtidos indicaram a adequação do procedimento de adsorção física. As condições otimizadas para conduzir as reações de interesterificação enzimática de blendas binárias de gordura de leite e óleo de canola, e de gordura de leite e óleo de castanha-do-pará, foram determinadas por planejamento composto central (CCD) constituído de 11 experimentos. A influência das variáveis temperatura (45-65?C) e teor de gordura no meio reacional (50-80%) foi avaliada simultaneamente, considerando como variáveis-resposta o grau de interesterificação (GI) e a consistência dos produtos. Modelos empíricos que possibilitaram a seleção de condições para obtenção de produtos interesterificados com satisfatória espalhabilidade (consistência entre 200 e 800 gf/cm²) foram compostos e confirmados para cada caso. Para a blenda gordura de leite e óleo de canola, as condições selecionadas corresponderam a um meio contendo 65% de gordura e 35% de óleo e incubado a 45°C por 12 h. Nessas condições foram obtidos produtos com consistência de 700 gf/cm². No caso da blenda gordura de leite e óleo de castanha-dopará, produtos interesterificados que atendem o parâmetro desejado (200-800 gf/cm²) foram obtidos empregando-se um meio contendo 50% de gordura e 50% do óleo, incubados a 45°C por 24 h. Reações de interesterificação de blendas ternárias de gordura de leite, óleo de canola e óleo de castanha-do-pará foram também efetuadas de acordo com um planejamento de misturas, constituído de 17 experimentos visando avaliar a influência da proporção de cada componente da blenda na consistência do produto interesterificado. Na faixa de variação investigada, o uso de blendas contendo 56% de gordura de leite, 22% de óleo de canola e 22% de óleo de castanha-do-pará incubadas por 3 h a 45°C resultou em produtos interesterificados com satisfatória consistência e plasticidade (634 gf/cm²). O desempenho das reações enzimáticas conduzidas sob aquecimento convencional e não convencional (irradiação de micro-ondas) foi ainda avaliado para as blendas binárias nas condições preditas pelo planejamento composto central, não sendo observada interferência das micro-ondas na atuação da enzima, obtendo-se produtos interesterificados com valores similares de consistência. Os dados obtidos sugerem que o processo de interesterificação enzimática catalisado pela lipase de Rhizopus oryzae imobilizada em SiO2-PVA foi eficaz para a modulação das características de plasticidade dos produtos obtidos empregando tanto misturas binárias como ternárias. / The objective of this work was to assess the effect of the enzymatic interesterification of milkfat with canola oil and Brazil nut oil on the properties of the resulting food product, using Rhizopus oryzae lipase immobilized on silica-polyvinyl alcohol (SiO2-PVA) as catalyst. The work was carried out considering as desirable to obtain a more spreadable product under domestic refrigerated conditions as well as enriched with unsaturated and essential fatty acids. Firstly, the properties of the raw materials were determined by applying official analysis techniques and results indicated that all raw materials were in agreement with the Brazilian legislation to food products. Then, two methodologies (physical adsorption and covalent binding) were tested for immobilizing the selected lipase on SiO2-PVA and physical adsorption was found to be the most suitable procedure. The optimized conditions to perform the enzymatic interesterification reactions of binary blends (milkfat and canola oil and milkfat and Brazil nut oil) were determined by central composite design (CCD), leading to a set of 11 runs. The influence of the variables, temperature (45-65°C) and the content of milk fat in the reaction medium (50-80%), was assessed simultaneously, taking the interesterification degree (ID) and consistency (10°C) as response variables. Empiric models were composed and confirmed for each case to establish conditions at which products with satisfactory spreadability (consistency in the range from 200 and 800 gf/cm²) can be obtained. For the milkfat and canola oil blend, the established conditions corresponded to a medium containing 65% of milk fat and 35% of oil, and lipase incubated at 45°C for 12 h. In these conditions, products with consistency of 700 gf/cm² were obtained. In the case of milkfat and Brazil nut oil blend, interesterified products with desirable parameter (200 and 800 gf/cm²) were obtained from reactions carried out with medium containing 50% of milk fat and 50% of oil, and lipase incubated at 45°C for 24 h. Interesterification reactions of ternary blends of milkfat, canola oil and Brazil nut oil were also carried out according to a mixture design with 17 runs to assess the influence of the mass proportion of each compound in the blend on the consistency of the interesterified products. In the range studied, the use of blends with 56% of milkfat, 22% of canola oil and 22% of Brazil nut oil and incubation at 45°C for 3 h resulted in products with satisfactory consistency and plasticity (634 gf/cm²). The performance of enzymatic reactions carried out under conventional and non-conventional (microwave irradiation) heating was also assessed for binary blends under the conditions predicted by the central composite design, and no interference of the microwave in the enzyme action was observed, resulting in interesterified products with similar values of consistency. The results obtained suggested that the process of enzymatic interesterification catalyzed by Rhizopus oryzae immobilized on SiO2-PVA was effective in modulating the plasticity properties of the products obtained using both binary and ternary blends.