Biodiesel from Microorganisms: A Review

Abstract

Biodiesel is a good substitute for fossil fuels because it is renewable, environmentally friendly, and biodegradable. Biodiesel is often classified into three generations, the third-generation biodiesel, often manufactured using lipids from microorganisms, especially microalgae and yeast, which can produce biomass with lipid content up to 70% by weight (dry). After cultivation of microorganisms, lipids in cells need to be recovered. This Review attempts to illustrate the entire process of producing third-generation biodiesel and suggests ways of promoting it. The Review defines biodiesel; touches upon different standards of biodiesel and performance of engines powered with biodiesel; summarizes the methods of cultivating microalgae and yeast, including reactors, parameters, media, and fermentation processes; and also introduces both traditional and modern methods of recovering lipids from biomass, suggesting ways of making the recovery more efficient and less expensive.