Algae BioFuels

 Unlikely any other feedstock, algae have the great flexibility to provide the specific feedstock for which biofuels we intend to produce.

For example, one of the algae that we are studying is microalgae Botryococcus braunii, is a unicellular, colonial member of the Chlorophyceae, which is characterized by unusually high hydrocarbon contents (C29 to C34 aliphatic hydrocarbons chain). These characteristics made B. braunii a serious candidate as feedstock for biokerosene-type turbine jet fuel (Chris Chapman, 2007).

However, if we need replacement for truck diesel with an abundance of C18 fatty acids, we have different species or strain of algae like Tetraselmis sp, Phaeodactylum sp and Neochloris sp can be produced to meet the requirements for transesterification to biodiesel. In addition, if we need a high starch content for Ethanol production, Dunaliella saline could be a better option.

The feedstock flexibility   is one of the strongest point of algae for Biofuels. However, there are many other novel characteristics of algae to make them in a new future one the most important source of high quality biofuels.

Member of American Aquabiotech, Biofuels Revolution, Moura Enterprises and MyBeloJardim (ver. Portuguese) Profs. Aecio D’Silva, Dr. John Kyndt and MSc. Fabiano Moura’s Group