Biodiesel from microalgae lipids: from inorganic carbon to energy production

ABSTRACT

Following the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP21 (Paris, France), several countries have attempted to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. In order to reach this objective, microalgae could be used to capture carbon dioxide and transform it into a biomass composed essentially of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins. Moreover, cultivating microalgae does not require arable land, in opposition to several oleaginous plants used to produce biofuels. Despite the fact that microalgae could be transformed into several biofuels such as bioethanol (by fermentation of hydrocarbons) and biomethane (by anaerobic digestion), transforming lipids into biodiesel could allow the reduction of oil-based diesel consumption. However, microalgae biodiesel production costs remain high for a short-term commercialization. The microalgae lipids can be transesterified into biodiesel in the presence of catalysts (homogeneous or heterogeneous). In order to commercialize biodiesel from microalgae, biodiesel physicochemical properties must respect the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. The aim of the study was to describe the current technologies available to produce biodiesel from microalgae.

KEYWORDS:

• Microalgae
• culture
• lipids
• extraction
• transesterification
• biodiesel

Acknowledgements

Michèle Heitz is grateful to Le Fond Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies (FQRNT) for the grant for the research program in partnership contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Marc Veillette wants also to express his gratitude to the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship and Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement) for the Rhône.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Le Fond Québécois de la Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies (FQRNT) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.