Lipid extraction methods from microalgal biomass harvested by two different paths: screening studies toward biodiesel production

Abstract

Microalgae can grow rapidly and capture CO2 from the atmosphere to convert it into complex organic molecules such as lipids (biodiesel feedstock). High scale economically feasible microalgae based oil depends on optimizing the entire process production. This process can be divided in three very different but directly related steps (production, concentration, lipid extraction and transesterification). The aim of this study is to identify the best method of lipid extraction to undergo the potentiality of some microalgal biomass obtained from two different harvesting paths. The first path used all physicals concentration steps, and the second path was a combination of chemical and physical concentration steps. Three microalgae species were tested: Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Nannochloropsis gaditana, and Chaetoceros calcitrans One step lipid extraction-transesterification reached the same fatty acid methyl ester yield as the Bligh and Dyer and soxhlet extraction with n-hexane methods with the corresponding time, cost and solvent saving.