PRODUCTION OF BIODIESEL FROM

GREEN ALGAE
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF :
Mr. PANKAJ KUMAR SINGH

GROUP NUMBER: 07
GROUP MEMBERS:
ABHISHEK KAUSHIK (0521023606)
HIMANSHU BALYAN (0591023606)
MUDIT MATHUR (0531023606)
OM PRAKASH YADAV (0461023606)

BIODIESEL
Biodiesel is a fuel comprised of mono-alkyl esters
of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils
or animal fats. Biodiesel can be used in any
concentration with petroleum based diesel fuel in
existing diesel engines with little or no modification.
Biodiesel is not the same thing as raw vegetable
oil. It is produced by a chemical process which
removes the glycerin from the oil.

FUEL SITUATION IN INDIA

The increasing import of fuel has necessitated the search for other
liquid fuels as an alternative to diesel, which is being used in large
quantities in transport of industrial and agricultural sector .
According to an estimate, automobiles alone contribute to 70% of
the total petroleum consumptions.
Indias transportation fuel requirements are unique in the world. India
consumes almost five times more diesel fuel than gasoline,
whereas, almost all other countries in the world use more gasoline
than diesel fuel.
Thus, in India, search for alternatives to petrodiesel is of special
importance and the use of biodiesel is comparatively much more
important for us than for rest of the countries.
Due to higher demand for fuel, it is expected that crude oil
production will start declining from the beginning of 2012.

Scenario of crude oil production

& import in India

ALGAE
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple,
typically
autotrophic
organisms
ranging
from unicellular to multicellular forms. The largest
and
most
complex
marine
forms
are
called seaweeds. They are photosynthetic,
like plants, and simple because they lack the many
distinct organs found in land plants.
Algae are an extremely important species. For one,
they produce more oxygen than all the plants in the
world, put together! For another, they form an
important food source for many animals such as
little shrimps and huge whales. Thus, they are at
the bottom of the food chain with many living things
depending upon them.

ALGAE CLASSIFICATION
ALGAE
HIGH
LIPID
CONTENT

CHLOROPHYTA

MICROALGAE

RHODOPHYTA

MACROALGAE

PHAEOPHYTA

LOW LIPID
CONTENT

CYANOBACTERIA

MICROALGAE vs MACROALGAE
Microalgae are small microscopic algae that require the aid
of a microscope to be seen while Macroalgae are algae that
can be observed with the naked human eye.
Microalgae have high oil content but are a little difficult to
cultivate and harvest in a cost-efficient manner.
Macroalgae, on the other hand, present low-cost cultivation
and harvesting possibilities, but most species are low in lipids
as well as carbohydrates.
With processes such as cellulosic fermentation (for deriving
ethanol), gasification (for deriving biodiesel, ethanol and a
wide range of hydrocarbons), or anaerobic digestion (for
methane or electricity generation), it is possible today to use
macroalgae as feedstock for biofuels. Thus, both micro and
macroalgae are potential feedstock for biofuels.

WHY GREEN ALGAE??

Biodiesel from green algae has natural solvents which clean the
engine as the fuel burns.

The Bio-diesel yield from algae is much more than the yield from any
other plant.

Grows in very little time of about 4 to 5 days.

There is a possibility of genetic modification to increase the

production of Acetyl Co-A Carboxylase enzyme which increase the
bio-diesel yields.

Microalgae are remarkable and efficient biological factories capable

of taking a waste (zero-energy) form of carbon (CO2) and converting
it into a high density liquid form of energy (natural oil).

Algae does not compete with food crop as it grows in water.

Algae can be used as fodder.

BIODIESEL FROM ALGAE

Algae to biodiesel has been widely discussed among experts
in the petroleum industry and conservationist who are looking
for a more reliable and safer source of energy that is both
renewable and easy to attain.
One of the key reasons why algae are considered as
feedstock for oil is their yields. Algae yield 30 times more
energy per acre than land crops such as soybeans, and some
estimate even higher yields up to 15000 gallons per acre.
Aside from keeping the earth clean and free form pollution,
these algal biodiesel fuels help to utilize a resource that is
available in abundance just waiting to be harnessed and
exploited.

COMPARISON OF BIO-FUEL
YIELDS
ORGANISM

YIELD (Gallons per acre per

year)

Corns

18

Soyabeans

48

Safflower

83

Sunflower

102

Rapeseed

107

Oil Palm

635

Microalgae

5000 to 15000

PROJECT PROCEDURE
SELECTION OF ALGAE
CULTURING ALGAE IN SUITABLE ENVIRONMENT
EXTRACTING & DRYING THE ALGAE
CRUSHING MECHANICALLY TO OBTAIN BIO-DIESEL
CHEMICAL EXTRACTION BY TRANS-ESTERIFICATION
TESTING ON ENGINE & TAKING OBSERVATIONS
RESULT

ALGAE SELECTION
Green algae are easily available in lakes,
ponds and any other source of nutrient rich
stagnant or flowing water. We chose to
extract bio-diesel from Microalgae which
are the most primitive form of plants.
Species like Spirogyra and Chlorella were
selected because they have high lipid
content and are easily available and
cultivable.

ALGAE CULTURE
Green algae was taken from a pond near India Gate and was
cultured in four buckets filled with water.
After observing a poor growth of algae under normal
circumstances, NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus & Potassium)
fertilizers have been added to the culture and the water is
cleaned everyday.
The culture contains easily available species like Spirogyra
(pond scum) and Chlorella which are known to have high lipid
content (about 20-50%).
The culture grew in 10 days and 8kg green alga (after drying
was obtained).

MECHANICAL METHODS OF
EXTRACTION

Algae was dried and was heated in small batches for 20 minutes.
It was rammed and then ground in a mixer till some liquid
(bio-diesel) separated out of it.

Algae sample to be dried

Grinding the Algae

CHEMICAL METHOD

Biodiesel is vegetable oil methyl ester or in general, biodiesel consists of

mono alkyl-esters. It is usually produced by a Trans-esterification and
esterification reaction of vegetable or waste oil respectively with a low
molecular weight alcohol, such as ethanol and methanol .

Simplified Reaction:
100 units oil or fat + 10 units alcohol = 100 units biodiesel + 10 units
glycerol

Triglycerols (TAGs) are the basic storage form of lipids in the Algae.
Some algae may have upto 60% of their body weight stored as
triglycerols.

CHEMICAL REACTION
INVOLVED
Trans-esterification Reaction:
Methanol + NaOH Methoxide (intermediate reaction)
Methoxide + Fatty acids (lipids) Biodiesel + Soap +
Glycerine

CHEMICAL EXTRACTION

500g of dried and ground algae was mixed with 1 litre of 20%
methanol solution and 2 g of NaOH.
Contents were rigorously shaken and was kept for 16 hours.
Different layers were obtained and glycerine, pigments etc.
were scooped out.
The contents were filtered to remove the impurities.
2.25 litre of bio-diesel was obtained from 8kg (dried mass) of
algae.

TESTING
The obtained Bio-diesel was tested on a 1000cc diesel
engine by mixing it with varying proportions of fossil diesel.
Notations used:
b0 - Pure fossil diesel
b10 10% Biodiesel + 90% diesel

b20 20% Biodiesel + 80% diesel

b30 30% Biodiesel + 70% diesel
b40 40% Biodiesel + 60% diesel
b50 50% Biodiesel + 50% diesel
The Engines performance & emissions were observed.

POWER vs SPEED CURVE

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

b0
b10
b20
b30
b40
b50

1200

1600

2000

2400

Speed (rpm)

2800

TORQUE vs SPEED CURVE

3000

2500

2000

b0
b10
b20

1500

b30
b40
1000

b50

500

0
1200

1600

2000

2400

Speed (rpm)

2800

CARBON MONOXIDE
EMISSION

HYDROCRBON CONTENT

CONCLUSIONS

Micro-algae is a good choice for mass production of Biodiesel because of its high availability, high growth rate and
ease of bio-diesel production.
Bio-diesel produced from algae can be used in varying
proportions along with fossil diesel.
The engine gives different responses for varying ratios of biodiesel with fossil fuel.
A mixture of 20% bio-diesel with 80% fossil diesel is good for
the engine performance.
With increasing ratio of bio-diesel, pollutants like
hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide reduce in the engine
emissions. Hence, use of bio-diesel is good for environment.
Cost of bio-diesel is marginally more than fossil diesel but it
may reduce with increase in production.

REFERENCES
1.

2.
3.

4.

5.
6.

John Sheeshan, Terri Dunahay, John Benemann,

Paul Roessler, A Lookback at U.S Department of
Energys Aquatic Species Program: Biodiesel from
Algae, National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL/TP-580-24190, 1-43, July 1998
http://www.oilgae.com/
http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/20319/
Rene H. Wijffels, Biodiesel from Microalgae,
Agrotechnology and Food Sciences Group Wegeningen UR, 1-23, 2004
http://www.bpe.wur.nl/UK/Research/
A.B.M. Sharif Hossain, Aishah Salleh, Amru
Nasrulhaq Boyce, Partha chowdhury and Mohd
Naqiuddin, Biodiesel Fuel Production from Algae as
Renewable
Energy,
American
Journal
of
Biochemistry and Biotechnology 4 (3):250-254, 2008