In Situ Transesterification of Marine Microalgae Biomass via Heterogeneous Acid Catalysis

Author(s)

Zorn, Savienne M. F. E. ^[1] ; Reis, Cristiano E. R. ^[1] ; Bento, Heitor B. S. ^[1] ; de Carvalho, Ana Karine F. ^[1] ; Silva, Messias B. ^[1] ; De Castro, Heizir F. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Engn Sch Lorena, BR-12602810 Lorena, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: BioEnergy Research; v. 13, n. 4 JUN 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Microalgae have been widely considered as a promising alternative to renewable feedstock to biofuel production. Considering the many oleaginous strains of microalgae, this work assessed the potential of two species, Chlorella minutissima and Nannochloropsis gaditana, to be tested as raw material for ethyl esters production of biodiesel value. This work demonstrates an efficient pilot-size photoautotrophic growth of the two strains using 40-L bubble-column photobioreactors, providing lipid productivities of around 15.2 and 8.7 mg L-1 day(-1) for C. minutissima and N. gaditana, respectively. The lipid-bearing biomass, which presented fatty acids composition similar to vegetable oils, such as soybean, rich in palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acids, was then assayed in direct trans/esterification reactions using ethanol as acyl donor, lipid extracting and solvent for the liquid phase in a pressurized reactor. The reactions, which were catalyzed by a heterogeneous acid catalyst (12-molybdophosphoric acid supported onto aluminum oxide), demonstrated an efficient route for producing a product mixture containing ester contents greater than 96.5 wt%, total conversion of triacylglycerols, and low levels of mono- and diacylglycerols, promoting an ethyl ester mixture with possible integration within the biodiesel market specifications. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/12908-8 - Fungal cultivation on sugarcane vinasse and development of a platform for high-value products in the ethanol industry
• Grantee: Cristiano Eduardo Rodrigues Reis
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 18/01386-3 - Artificial lichens and the integration of products with high added value to a biorefinery
• Grantee: Savienne Maria Fiorentini Elerbrock Zorn
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 16/10636-8 - From the cell factory to the Biodiesel-Bioethanol integrated biorefinery: a systems approach applied to complex problems in micro and macroscales
• Grantee: Roberto de Campos Giordano
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Thematic Grants