Potential of Fresh Water Green Microalgae Scenedesmus dimorphus in Producing High Quality Biodiesel
J. A. Lone* , F. A. Lone , K. Toppo , K. R. Hakeem , S. A. Dar
DOI : 10.46890/SL.2020.v02i06010
Abstract
Aim: The present investigation was carried out to study the potential of green microalga Scenedesmus dimorphus as a suitable feedstock for biodiesel production. Methodology: The growth analysis pattern of this robust alga in the Bold Basal media showed that the specie is fast growing and reached a stationary phase on 14th day of incubation only and is suitable for high-density culture. Based upon its rapid growth this promising specie of microalgae was selected for large scale biomass production in indigenous made 25 liter lab scale photobioreactor. The microalga thrived very efficiently and harvested biomass was lypholized and subjected to lipid extraction by Soxhlet method (1875). The microalgal oil was subjected to fatty acid and physico- chemical analysis also. Results: The fatty acid methyl ester profile showed that the specie possess appreciable amounts of primary fatty acids with carbon chain length of C16 to C18 viz oleic acid 21.1 %, palmitic acid 18.9 % and linoleic 13.1 % making suitable feedstock for the production of good quality biodiesel. The quality parameters of the microalgal oil like degree of unsaturation, cetane number, iodine value, saponification value were within the limits of National petroleum agency(ANP 255), American society for testing and materials (ASTM D6751) and European biodiesel (EN 14214) international standards respectively. Interpretation: The highly dense (0.980 g cc-1) and viscous (0.539 Pa s) oil of microalga reveal that transesterification is a crucial step in minimizing these characteristics of the oil and converting the algal oil into biodiesel. Overall, our results suggest that Scenedesmus dimorphus is the promising isolate for producing high-quality biodiesel.
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Aim: The present investigation was carried out to study the potential of green microalga Scenedesmus dimorphus as a suitable feedstock for biodiesel production. Methodology: The growth analysis pattern of this robust alga in the Bold Basal media showed that the specie is fast growing and reached a stationary phase on 14th day of incubation only and is suitable for high-density culture. Based upon its rapid growth this promising specie of microalgae was selected for large scale biomass production in indigenous made 25 liter lab scale photobioreactor. The microalga thrived very efficiently and harvested biomass was lypholized and subjected to lipid extraction by Soxhlet method (1875). The microalgal oil was subjected to fatty acid and physico- chemical analysis also. Results: The fatty acid methyl ester profile showed that the specie possess appreciable amounts of primary fatty acids with carbon chain length of C16 to C18 viz oleic acid 21.1 %, palmitic acid 18.9 % and linoleic 13.1 % making suitable feedstock for the production of good quality biodiesel. The quality parameters of the microalgal oil like degree of unsaturation, cetane number, iodine value, saponification value were within the limits of National petroleum agency(ANP 255), American society for testing and materials (ASTM D6751) and European biodiesel (EN 14214) international standards respectively. Interpretation: The highly dense (0.980 g cc-1) and viscous (0.539 Pa s) oil of microalga reveal that transesterification is a crucial step in minimizing these characteristics of the oil and converting the algal oil into biodiesel. Overall, our results suggest that Scenedesmus dimorphus is the promising isolate for producing high-quality biodiesel.