Comparative analysis of biodiesel production from various algal resources using heterogeneous catalyst

Abstract

The issues involved with energy security, depletion of coal newlinereserves, accelerated climate change, and diminishing petroleum supplies newlinehave driven in search of alternative fuels. Biofuel is a renewable energy newlinesource made from either plant or animal feedstock. Biomass is an important newlineand profitable energy resource that has generated a lot of attention. Many of newlinethese biological elements employed in the synthesis of bioethanol are newlinefeedstock resources. Furthermore, because of its corrosive nature, ethanol newlinecannot be employed in engines because it is incompatible with the present newlineengine design. Among various biofuels, biodiesel has widespread application newlineas one of the finest alternative choice compared to bioethanol and newlineconventional fossil fuels. Biodiesel is a fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) newlinegenerated from vegetable oils and animal fats that has attracted a lot of newlineinterest since the 1990s. As a green and renewable biofuel, biodiesel is said to newlinebe sulphur-free, nontoxic, biodegradable, reduced emissions, unlike the newlinetraditional fuels. Most predominant feedstock for biodiesel includes animal newlinefats, edible or non-edible oils, algal oil and microbial oil. The microalgae are newlineone of the competitors for biodiesel feedstock due to its availability and high newlineproductivity. Among various species studied, Nannochloropsis salina and newlineNannochloropsis oculata are found to contain high lipid content and hence newlinehave been chosen for the present investigation as a feedstock for the newlineproduction of biodiesel. The electrocoagulation method was implemented to newlineharvest the microalgae. The one variable at a time (OVAT) technique was newlineutilized to determine the optimal voltage for cell separation. newline