Sustainable Recovery of Plant Lipase From Pequi Peel ( <i>caryocar brasiliense camb</i> .) in Aqueous Two‐Phase Systems: An Optimization Approach

ABSTRACT While plant residues represent promising low‐cost enzyme sources, their efficient recovery remains a challenge for industrial biocatalysis. This study aimed to optimize thepurification of lipases extracted from pequi peel ( Caryocar brasiliense Camb .) using aqueous two‐phase systems (ATPS) composed of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1500 g/mol and potassium phosphate at pH 7.0. The effects of extract, salt, and PEG concentrations (% m/m), and temperature on lipase partitioning were systematically evaluated using a full factorial (2⁴) and a central composite rotational design (CCRD). The optimized ATPS condition obtained through the response surface methodology was 15% PEG, 13.7% salt, 11.5% extract at 25 °C, in which, maximum enzyme partition coefficient ( K e ) 0.096, selectivity ( S ) 0.0005, theoretical recovery (% Y ) 97.3%, and purification factor (PF) 3.52 were achieved, confirming that pequi peel lipases preferentially partitioned into the salt‐rich phase. These findings highlight pequi peel as a sustainable and underexplored source of lipases with potentially catalytic properties, while demonstrating that optimized ATPS enables efficient and eco‐friendly enzyme recovery for industrial biocatalysis.