Biodiesel Production from Selected Microalgae Strains and Determina tion of its Properties and Combustion Specific Characteristics

Abstract

Biofuels are gaining importance as significant substitutes for the depleting fossil fuels. Recent focus is on microalgae as the third generation feedstock. In the present research work, two indigenous fresh water and two marine Chlorophyte strains have been cultivated successfully under laboratory conditions using commercial fertilizer (Nutrileaf 30-10-10, initial concentration=70 g/m 3) as nutrient source. Gas chromatographic analysis data showed that microalgae biodiesel obtained from Chlorophyte strains biomass were composed of fatty acid methyl esters. The produced microalgae biodiesel achieved a range of 2.2-10.6 % total lipid content and an unsaturated FAME content between 49 mol% and 59 mol%. The iodine value, the cetane number, the cold filter plugging point, the oxidative stability as well as combustion specific characteristics of the final biodiesels were determined based on the compositions of the four microalgae strains. The calculated biodiesel properties compared then with the corresponding properties of biodiesel from known vegetable oils, from other algae strains and with the specifications in the EU (EN 14214) and US (ASTM D6751) standards. The derived biodiesels from indigenous Chlorophyte algae were significantly comparable in quality with other biodiesels.

Biodiesel production from high free fatty acid byproduct of bioethanol production process

“…Viscosity, iodine value and low-temperature properties depend primarily on the degree of unsaturation of fatty acids (esters). Oxidative stability is an important property for biodiesel and depends both on its chemical composition (or degree of unsaturation and type of complex bonds) and storage conditions [16,17]. The oxidation stability of the obtained biodiesel COB was out of specifications, due to the content of unsaturated esters (Table 4).…”

Perspective Design of Algae Photobioreactor for Greenhouses—A Comparative Study

“…In the pharmaceutical and food industries, a high added value of products entering the market can be often predicted, which opens a wide range of possibilities for microalgae production applications. Lipid production is currently investigated mainly regarding biofuels production, which is, however, still not competitive enough compared to the existing technologies [9,10], even though the algae biodiesel is of comparable quality with other biodiesels [11]. Intensive research on microalgae cultivation, system optimization, and other aspects of the supply chain is currently being carried out using the most advanced algorithms [12].…”

Utilization of Biomass Derived from Cyanobacteria-Based Agro-Industrial Wastewater Treatment and Raisin Residue Extract for Bioethanol Production

“…In contrast, many photosynthetic microorganisms (microalgae and cyanobacteria) have high a content of starch and cellulose and therefore constitute excellent substrates for bioethanol production [2][3][4] (Table 1). Microalgae including different phyla such as Chlorophyta (green algae), Rhodophyta (red algae), Heterokontophyta and Cyanophyta (blue green algae, cyanobacteria) are gaining wide attention as alternative renewable sources of biomass as they offer a number of potential advantages compared to plants [5][6][7].…”