Third generation biodiesel production from microalgae phormidium autumnale

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate third generation biodiesel production by the microalgae Phormidium autumnale using sucrose as exogenous carbon source. The study focused on optimization of the different C/N ratios and on the analysis of biofuel quality. The results indicate that a C/N ratio of 40 improved the performance of the system, reaching single-cell oil productivities of 18.9 mg/L in steady-state conditions. This oil has a composition predominantly saturated (45.2%) and monounsaturated (34.7%) suitable for biodiesel synthesis (ester content of 99.8%, cetane number of 58.5%, iodine value of 67.2 gI2/100 g, unsaturation degree of 71.3% and a cold filter plugging point of 6.7 °C).