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INDONESIAN SCHOLARS JOURNAL Paper Number (Will be replaced with volume and paper number if the manuscript is accepted)

Microalgae Oil for Biodiesel Production as


Renewable Energy Resource A Review
1

Nyayu Aisyah, 1Ade Clara Pretty Sundari &1Khusnul Khotimah,


1

Erwana Dewi

Chemical Engineering Department, State Polytechnic of Sriwijaya, Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia
Email: aisyahnyayu6@gmail.com, adeclaraalexander@gmail.com, khusnul486@gmail.com

Abstract. Nowadays biodiesel, as an alternative fuel, is attracting increasing attention. Microalgae appear as a solution for this
crucial problem. As renewable energy resource, microalgae capable of meeting the global demand for transport fuels. Like
plants, microalgae use sunlight, carbon dioxide and several nutrients to produce oils but they do so more efficient than crop
plants. Oil productivity of microalgae greatly exceeds the oil productivity of the best producing oil crops. Due to their high
biomass productivity, rapid lipid accumulation, and ability to survive in saline water, microalgae have been identified as
promising feedstocks for industrial-scale production of carbon-neutral biodiesel. This paper reviews the reasons for choosing
microalgae as renewable energy resources and the process of biodiesel production, including growth rate and productivity.

Keywords: Microalgae, renewable resource, biodiesel, cultivation, harvesting, extraction, transesterefication

1.

INTRODUCTION
The idea of using microalgae as a source of biodiesel is
not new, but it is now being taken seriously because of the
rising price of petroleum and more significantly, the emerging
concern about global warming that is associated with burning
of fossil fuels1]. The utilization of microalgae for biofuels
production offers the following advantages over higher plants:
(1) microalgae synthesize and accumulate large quantities of
neutral lipids (2050% dry weight of biomass) and grow at
high rates; (2) microalgae are capable of all year round
production, therefore, oil yield per area of microalgae cultures
could greatly exceed the yield of best oilseed crops; (3)
microalgae need less water than terrestrial crops therefore
reducing the load on freshwater sources; (4) microalgae
cultivation does not require herbicides or pesticides
application; (5) microalgae sequester CO2 from flue gases
emitted from fossil fuel-fired power plants and other sources,
thereby reducing emissions of a major greenhouse gas (1 kg
of dry algal biomass utilize about 1.83 kg of CO 2); (6)
microalgae could be applied as bioremediation agent of
wastewater by removal of NH4+ , NO3-, PO43- from a variety of
wastewater sources (e.g. agricultural run-off, concentrated
animal feed operations, and
industrial and municipal
wastewaters); (7) combined with their ability to grow under
harsher conditions and their reduced needs for nutrients,
microalgae can be cultivated in saline/brackish water/coastal
seawater on non-arable land, and do not compete for resources
with conventional agriculture; (8) depending on the
microalgae species, other compounds may also be extracted,
with valuable applications in different industrial sectors,
including a large range of fine chemicals and bulk products,
such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, natural dyes,

polysaccharides, pigments, antioxidants, high-value bioactive


compounds, and proteins 2].
One of the characters that form the basis in selecting
microalgae as biodiesel feedstock is because microalgae can
growth in extreme environments3]. There are several types of
microalgae that have been known to have high lipid content,
such as Botryococcus braunii, Chlorella sp., Schizochitrium
sp., Nannochloropsis sp. However, Indonesian microalgae has
not been explored and studied intensively as feedstock
biodiesel makers.
Table 1. Oil content of some microalgae4]
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Microalgae
Botryococcus braunii
Chlorella sp.
Crypthecodinium cohnii
Cylindrotheca sp.
Dunaliella primolecta
Isochrysis sp.
Monallanthus salina
Nannochloropsis sp.
Neochloris oleoabundans
Nitzschia sp.
Phaeodactylum tricornutum
Tetraselmis sueica

Oil content
(% dry
weight)
25-75
28-32
20
16-37
23
25-33
>20
31-68
45-47
45-47
20-30
15023

Microalgae are present in all existing earth ecosystems,


not just aquatic but also terrestrial, representing a big variety
of species living in a wide range of environmental conditions.
It is estimated that more than 50,000 species exist, but only a

INDONESIAN SCHOLARS JOURNAL Paper Number (Will be replaced with volume and paper number if the manuscript is accepted)

limited number, of around 30,000, have been studied and


analyzed5].
During the past decades extensive collections of
microalgae have been created by researchers in different
countries.

agricultural crops, and other aquatic plants, requiring much


less land area than other biodiesel feedstocks of agricultural
origin, up to 49 or 132 times less when compared to
rapeseed or soybean crops, for a 30% (w/w) of oil content
in algae biomass.

2. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

How microalgae produce biodiesel?


Microalgae need a light source, carbon dioxide, water
and inorganic salts to grow. The temperature should be
between 15 and 30oC for optimal growth. For making biofuel
there are several steps that we must do (Cultivation,
harvesting, extraction and transesterification).
The first step is cultivation. There are two types of
microalgae cultivation, open system and enclosed system.
Each system has its own advantages and disadvantages. In this
paper we concern on enclosed system. Photobioreactor are the
example of enclosed system. Photobioreactor can overcome
the problems of contamination and evaporation encountered in
open ponds6]. The biomass productivity of photobioreactors
can be 13 times more than the traditional raceway pond on
average10]. Photobioreactors are often turbular to allow for a
greater amount of light penetration. A tubular photobioreactor
consists of an array of straight transparent tubes that are
usually made of plastic or glass. This tubular array, or the solar
collector, is where the sunlight is captured (Fig. 2). The solar
collector tubes are generally 0.1 m or less in diameter. Tube
diameter is limited because light does not penetrate too deeply
in the dense culture broth that is necessary for ensuring a
high \biomass productivity of the photobioreactor. Microalgae
broth is circulated from a reservoir (i.e. the degassing column
in Fig. 1) to the solar collector and back to the reservoir.
Continuous culture operation is used, as explained above.

What is biodiesel?
Biodiesel is a diesel fuel derived from animal or plant lipids
(oils and fats). Studies have shown that some species of algae
can produce 60% or more of their dry weight in the form of
oil. Because the cells grow in aqueous suspension, where they
have more efficient access to water, CO2 and dissolved
nutrients, microalgae are capable of producing large amounts
of biomass and usable oil in either high rate algal ponds or
photobioreactors. This oil can then be turned into biodiesel
which could be sold for use in automobiles. Regional
production of microalgae and processing into biofuels will
provide economic benefits to rural communities.
Why microalgae can be used as feedstock for biodiesel?
Microalgae have also been identified as attractive sources
of biodiesel because different species can produce a variety of
fuel products. Various microalgae species have the ability to
produce large quantities of lipid while sequestering CO 2,
particularly neutral lipids in the form of triacylglycerol (TAG),
which can be converted to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs),
the main components of biodiesel6], through transesterification, or refined into other fuel constituents 7]. Total
lipids and other biomass constituents can be converted into
crude oil alternatives through thermo-chemical processes such
as hydrothermal liquefaction (Barreiro et al.
2013).
Microalgae carbohydrates can be fermented into ethanol, and
some species can produce bio-hydrogen 8]. In addition to their
diversity of products, microalgae are attractive as fuel sources
because many species grow relatively fast.
Microalgae are prokaryotic or eukaryotic photosynthetic
microorganisms that can grow rapidly and live in harsh
conditions due to their unicellular or simple multicellular
structure9]. They reproduce themselves using photosynthesis
to convert sun energy into chemical energy, completing an
entire growth cycle every few days. Moreover they can grow
almost anywhere, requiring sunlight and some simple
nutrients, although the growth rates can be accelerated by the
addition of specic nutrients and sufcient aeration10].
Different microalgae species can be adapted to live in a
variety of environmental conditions. Thus, it is possible to nd
species best suited to local environments or specic growth
characteristics, which is not possible to do with other current
biodiesel feedstocks (e.g. soybean, rapeseed, sunower and
palm oil). They have much higher growth rates and
productivity when compared to conventional
forestry,

Fig 1. Continuous culture operation of the degassing column


in solar collector
The second step is harvesting. Microalgae harvesting
consists of biomass recovery from the culture medium that
may contribute to 2030% of the total biomass production
cost. In order to remove large quantities of water and process
large algal biomass volumes, a suitable harvesting method
may involve one or more steps and be achieved in several
physical, chemical, or biological ways. Most common
harvesting methods include sedimentation, centrifugation,
ltration, ultra-ltration, sometimes with an additional
occulation step or with a combination of occulation
otation.

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Turning wet algal biomass into combustible fuel has


proven challenging. After harvesting the algae, the biomass is
typically processed in a series of steps, which can differ based
on the species and desired product; this is an active area of
research. Often, the algae is dehydrated and then a solvent
such as hexane is used to extract energy-rich compounds like
triglycerides from the dried material. Then, the extracted
compounds can be processed into fuel using standard
industrial procedures. For example, the extracted triglycerides
are reacted with methanol to create biodiesel via
transesterification. The unique composition of fatty acids of
each species influences the quality of the resulting biodiesel
and thus must be taken into account when selecting algal
species for feedstock.
Coagulation is the process of chemically changing colloids
so that they are able to form bigger particles by coming close
to one another11]. It involves the formation of chemical flocs
that absorb, entrap, or otherwise bring together suspended
matter that are colloidal12]. The aggregation process of these
particles to form flocs is described as colloidal destabilization.
Chemical flocculants like alum and ferric chloride are used to
harvest microalgae, but it is often too expensive for large
operations (Hung et al., 2010).
Other options, such as autoflocculation, rely on increased
pH either by CO2 consumption through photosynthesis or the
addition of alkali resulting in excess calcium and phosphate
ions. In the presence of excess calcium ions, the calcium
phosphate precipitate is positively charged and therefore
adsorbed on the negatively charged algal cells agglomerating
them and promoting algal flocculation13]. Calcium and
phosphate are limiting reagents in autoflocculation and
generally become coagulant additions to induce floc
formation. To attain flocs within the pH range of 8.5-9.0, the
culture should contain 0.1-0.2 mM orthophosphate and
between 1.0-2.5 mM calcium14]. A combination of methods can
also be used, e.g. a pre-concentration with a mechanical
dewatering step such as coagulation/flocculation, a postconcentration by means of a screw centrifuge or a thermal
drying. After separation from the culture medium algal
biomass (515% dry weight) must be quickly processed lest it
should get spoiled in only a few hours in a hot climate.
The final step is transesterication is a multiple step
reaction, including three reversible steps in series, where
triglycerides are converted to diglycerides, then diglycerides
are converted to monoglycerides, and monoglycerides are then
converted to esters (biodiesel) and glycerol (by-product). The
overall transesterication reaction is described in Fig. 2 where
the radicals R1, R2, R3 represent long chain hydrocarbons,
known as fatty acids.
For the transesterication reaction oil or fat and a short
chain alcohol (usually methanol) are used as reagents in the
presence of a catalyst (usually NaOH). Although the alcohol :
oil theoretical molar ratio is 3:1, the molar ratio of 6:1 is

generally used to complete the reaction accurately. The


relationship between the feedstock mass input and biodiesel
mass output is about 1:1, which means that theoretically, 1 kg
of oil results in about 1 kg of biodiesel.
A homogeneous or heterogeneous, acid or basic catalyst
can be used to enhance the transesterication reaction rate,
although for some processes using supercritical uids
(methanol or ethanol) it may not be necessary to use a
catalyst.

Fig.3. Transesterication of triglycerides


Most common industrial processes use homogeneous alkali
catalysts (e.g. NaOH or KOH) in a stirred reactor operating in
batch mode.
Recently some improvements were proposed for this
process, in particular to be able to operate in continuous mode
with reduced reaction time, such as reactors with improved
mixing, microwave assisted reaction, cavitation reactors and
ultrasonic reactors.
Another form of biofuels that can be produced from
microalgae
Butanol can be made from algae or diatoms using only a
solar powered biorefinery. This fuel has an energy density
10% less than gasoline, and greater than that of either ethanol
or methanol. In most gasoline engines, butanol can be used in
place of gasoline with no modifications. In several tests,
butanol consumption is similar to that of gasoline, and when
blended with gasoline, provides better performance and
corrosion resistance than that of ethanol.
Biogasoline is gasoline produced from biomass. Like
traditionally produced gasoline, it contains between 6 (hexane)
and 12 (dodecane) carbon atoms per molecule and can be used
in internal-combustion engines.
Methane, the main constituent of natural gas can be
produced from algae in various methods, namely Gasification,
Pyrolysis and Anaerobic Digestion. In Gasification and
Pyrolysis methods methane is extracted under high
temperature and pressure. Anaerobic Digestion is a straight
forward method involved in decomposition of algae into
simple components then transforming it into fatty acids using
microbes like acidific bacteria followed by removing any solid
particles and finally adding methanogenic bacteria to release a
gas mixture containing methane. A number of studies have

INDONESIAN SCHOLARS JOURNAL Paper Number (Will be replaced with volume and paper number if the manuscript is accepted)

successfully shown that biomass from microalgae can be


converted into biogas via anaerobic digestion. Therefore, in
order to improve the overall energy balance of microalgae
cultivation operations, it has been proposed to recover the
energy contained in waste biomass via anaerobic digestion to
methane for generating electricity.
3. CONCLUSION
Algae Fuel or algae biofuel is an alternative to fossil fuel that
uses microalgae as sources of natural deposite. The crisis of
energy has ignited interest in developing and processing
microalgae as feedstock for making biodiesel and other
biofuels. This is due to many factors, including their high lipid
content, the ability to grow on non arable land and/or salt
water, their fast rate of growth, and the fact that they do not
compete with food crops. Microalgae are one of natures
smallest gifts that we believe hold the key to unlock an endless
word of possibilities in the fuel oil resources today.
REFERENCES
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[7] Pienkos and Darzins 2009
[8] Radakovits et al. 2010
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[12] Nemerow,1978
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