Journal of Fundamentals of Renewable Energy and Applications
Open Access

Biodiesel production from microalgae grown on wastewater

International Congress and Expo on Biofuels & Bioenergy

August 25- 27, 2015 Valencia, Spain

Mirit Kolet1, Faina Nakonechny1, Yaakov Anker2 and Marina Nisnevitch1

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Fundam Renewable Energy Appl

Abstract :

Concerns about energy security and independence, environmental pollution and climate changes are promoting the
development of sustainable and renewable biofuels. The most popular alternative to fossil energy sources today is biodiesel
from agricultural crops, mainly corn. However, this alternative may cause a reduction in the world’s food sources. Microalgae
are considered to be very promising for biofuel production, since they do not compete with plants for agricultural areas and
can be cultivated in existing reservoirs of wastewater treatment stations. Microalgae exhibit high metabolic and biochemical
flexibility, including lipid, carbohydrate and protein accumulation, which can be regulated by varying the cultivation conditions
at high growth rates. A traditional scheme for biodiesel production includes two separate stages extraction of triglycerides of
fatty acids from the biomass and a trans-esterification reaction for conversion of the triglycerides into monoesters which
comprising biodiesel. The aim of the study is development of biodiesel production from microalgae grown in wastewater by in
situ transesterification of triglycerides.