Analysis of oil derived from liquefaction of Botryococcus Braunii

Abstract Botryococcus braunii is a colonial green microalga that produces and accumulates oily hydrocarbons called botryococcenes (36% based on organics). It was reported that more oil was obtained than hydrocarbons in B. braunii when thermochemical liquefaction was applied to B. braunii for recovery of botryococcenes. In this paper, the properties of oil obtained by thermochemical liquefaction are clarified. The liquefied oil of B. braunii was fractionated into three fractions by silica gel column chromatography and analyzed to determine its composition. The yields of the three fractions based on organics were 5% of lower molecular weight hydrocarbons (MW, 197–281), 27.2% of botryococcenes (MW, 438–572) and 22.2% of polar substances (MW, 867–2209). The maximum recovery (78%) of botryococcenes in the liquefied oil was achieved at 200°C with the use of a catalyst.