Abstract
The microscopic alga Coccomyxa subglobosa, collected from the Głowoniowa Nyża Cave (Tatra Mountains, Poland), is a source of fatty acids (FAs) that could be used for biodiesel production. FAs from subaerial algae have unlimited availability because of the ubiquity of algae in nature. Algal culture was carried out under laboratory conditions and algal biomass was measured during growth phase, resulting in 5 g of dry weight (32% oil). The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profile was analyzed by means of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The presence of lipids and chloroplasts in C. subglobosa was demonstrated using GC–MS and confocal laser microscopy. Naturally occurring FAMEs contained C12–C24 compounds, and methyl palmitate (28.5%) and methyl stearate (45%) were the predominant lipid species. Aerophytic algae could be an important component of biodiesel production, as they are omnipresent and environmentally friendly, contain more methyl esters than seaweed, and can be easily produced on a large scale.
Highlights
Biofuels produced from plants and animal waste reduce the necessity for petroleum, coal, and natural gas use and they are an environmentally sustainable alternative that allows for reductions in global pollutants
The aim of this study was to test whether Fatty acids (FAs) methyl esters (FAMEs) of the aerophytic alga
We present that the aerophytic alga C. subglobosa isolated from a cave, can be used as a potential source for biodiesel production
Summary
Biofuels produced from plants and animal waste reduce the necessity for petroleum, coal, and natural gas use and they are an environmentally sustainable alternative that allows for reductions in global pollutants. Biodiesel is typically commercially produced from vegetable and soybean oils. Fakhry and Maghraby noted that the main environmental benefits of biodiesel depend on its renewability, lack of toxicity, and biodegradability, as well as the fact that its combustion produces fewer harmful gaseous emissions, such as sulphur oxide [2]. Biodiesel is composed of long-chain alkyl (methyl, ethyl, or propyl) esters obtained from triglycerides by transesterification with alcohol [3,4]. Fatty acids (FAs) are composed of hydrocarbon and carboxylic acid groups, and are responsible for the hydrophobic properties exhibited by lipids. Lipids are defined as apolar natural compounds, which can be classified by their FA profiles [7]. FA profiles are used as chemotaxonomic markers to define groups of different
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