Algae Biodiesel

Algae Biodiesel

 

Certain microalgae can have a significant amount of lipid as storage material (up to 70 % of their dry weight). These lipids can be extracted as algal oil and are an excellent source for the production of biodiesel. After extracting the algal oils, a detailed quality analysis should be performed on the quality and composition of the oil and leftover cake.

Depending on the composition, the algal oils can be further processed for biodiesel through transesterification or biojetfuel production through hydrocracking. Esterification to produce biodiesel (mostly C9 through C17 hydrocarbons) is performed by several well established methods and analyzed for efficiency and for the total cost per liter of diesel production.

Syngas can be produced from the left-over algal cake through gasification.

Member of American Aquabiotech, Biofuels Revolution, Moura Enterprises and MyBeloJardim (ver. Portuguese) Prof. Aecio D’Silva’s Group