Microbial oil from R. opacus: Sustainable biodiesel production

Abstract

Generating additional and efficient biodiesel routes will rely heavily on advancements in clean energy technologies along with the creation of novel fermentation tactics and analyses. To create biofuels of the second generation from alternative carbon sources other than food, oleaginous microbes with the capacity to accumulate methyl esters of fatty acids (FAMEs), such as Rhodococcus species, can be utilised. These "micro biorefineries" offer a technique to convert waste streams from industry and agriculture into fungible fuels or compounds that can be used as building blocks for other substances and chemicals. Due to their similar content to typical raw materials like plant-based oils, oils from bacteria have become a feasible substitute to create biodiesel from raw material. The fact that they do not compete for arable land or with food for people or animals is another benefit of them. Using hydrolysate as the only source of carbon, a carbon and energy balance for the model species R. opacus was assessed in this study. A favourable energy balance was shown by the method. The viability of bacterial oil as a biofuel substrate was also assessed by measuring the lipid fatty acid profile and cetane number. Also, an analysis of the oil yields from bacterial, microalgae and plant-based oils is shown in terms of how much land each uses. The findings revealed that R. opacus oil production is significantly more than plant-based oils (650 times) and microalgae (30 times).