tThe catalytic performance of whole Mucor circinelloides URM 4182 cells immobilized in polyurethanefoam particles was assessed for the ethanolysis of different vegetable oils, including andiroba (Carapaguianensis), coconut (Cocos nucifera), jatropha (Jatropha curcas), macaw palm (Acronomia aculeata), andpalm tree (Elaeis guineensis). In a typical batch run, the immobilized cells were added at a vegetable oil-to-ethanol molar ratio of 1:8 using tert-butanol as the solvent. Under these conditions, the biocatalystshowed consistent selectivity by producing the corresponding ester from each fatty acid. The highestyield was achieved in the ethanolysis of coconut (97%) and macaw palm (95%) oils whose fatty acidprofiles showed predominant concentrations of lauric acid. These results suggested high specificity ofintracellular lipases to convert saturated fatty acids into their respective ethyl esters. The ethanolysisactivity of the immobilized cells was also assessed at different space times (60–80 h) in a continuouspacked-bed reactor using coconut oil as the feedstock. Better reactor performance was found at spacetime of 80 h. In this condition, 92.7 ± 1.5% of the fatty acids present in the coconut oil were converted intothe corresponding ethyl esters. The average volumetric productivity was 3.5 ± 0.7 mgesterg−1biocatalysth−1with no significant reduction in the reactor efficiency during 25 days.