Biodiesel production from algal oil using cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) as feedstock

As a potential source of biomass supplies, cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) has been studied for bioethanol production, but not for the production of biodiesel. In this study, we used cassava hydrolysate as an alternative carbon source for the growth of microalgae (Chlorella protothecoides) which accumulated oil in vivo, with high oil content up to 53% by dry mass under a 5-L scale fermentation condition. The oils were extracted and converted into biodiesel by transesterification. The biodiesel obtained consisted of mainly unsaturated fatty acids methyl ester (over 82%), cetane acid methyl ester, linoleic acid methyl ester, and oleic acid methyl ester. This work suggests the feasibility of an alternative choice for producing biodiesel from cassava by microalgae fermentation. We report herewith the optimized condition for the fermentation and for the hydrolysis of cassava as the carbon source.

[1]  V. Zverlov,et al.  Biofuels from microbes , 2007, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[2]  E. Becker.  Microalgae: Biotechnology and Microbiology , 1994 .

[3]  J. Cock,et al.  Leaf retention and cassava productivity , 2006 .

[4]  Y Fujio,et al.  Ethanol fermentation of raw cassava starch with Rhizopus koji in a gas circulation type fermentor. , 1985, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[5]  K. Schäfer,et al.  Accelerated solvent extraction of lipids for determining the fatty acid composition of biological material , 1998 .

[6]  J. Cock,et al.  Water Use Efficiency of Cassava. III. Influence of Air Humidity and Water Stress on Gas Exchange of Field Grown Cassava1 , 1985 .

[7]  L. Rodolfi,et al.  Microalgae for oil: Strain selection, induction of lipid synthesis and outdoor mass cultivation in a low‐cost photobioreactor , 2009, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[8]  Wenqiao Yuan,et al.  Rapid quantitation of lipid in microalgae by time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance. , 2008, Journal of microbiological methods.

[9]  Qingyu Wu,et al.  Application of sweet sorghum for biodiesel production by heterotrophic microalga Chlorella protothecoides , 2010 .

[10]  X. Miao,et al.  Biodiesel production from heterotrophic microalgal oil. , 2006, Bioresource technology.

[11]  M. A. Langone,et al.  Biodiesel fuel production by the transesterification reaction of soybean oil using immobilized lipase , 2007, Applied biochemistry and biotechnology.

[12]  Qingyu Wu,et al.  Large‐scale biodiesel production from microalga Chlorella protothecoides through heterotrophic cultivation in bioreactors , 2007, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[13]  Qingyu Wu,et al.  High-density fermentation of microalga Chlorella protothecoides in bioreactor for microbio-diesel production , 2008, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[14]  Yun Cheng,et al.  Alga-Based Biodiesel Production and Optimization Using Sugar Cane as the Feedstock , 2009 .

[15]  M. Flach,et al.  Choice of food crops in relation to actual and potential production in the tropics. , 1967 .

[16]  G. L. Miller.  Use of Dinitrosalicylic Acid Reagent for Determination of Reducing Sugar , 1959 .

[17]  X. Miao,et al.  High quality biodiesel production from a microalga Chlorella protothecoides by heterotrophic growth in fermenters. , 2006, Journal of biotechnology.

[18]  B. Halkier,et al.  POSSIBLE USE OF A BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPROACH TO OPTIMIZE AND REGULATE THE CONTENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF CYANOGENIC GLUCOSIDES IN CASSAVA TO INCREASE FOOD SAFETY. , 1994 .

[19]  Yun Cheng,et al.  Biodiesel production from Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus Tuberosus L.) tuber by heterotrophic microalgae Chlorella protothecoides , 2009 .