Microalgae to Energy

Microalgae, an organism which is considered as a potential source of biofuel from the last decade endowed with excellent capability of CO2 capture and sequestration, water treatment, prolific growth rate and enormous energy content. The Soxhlet extraction of lipids from microalgae (Chlorella Vulgaris, Nannochloropsis sp., and Thalassiosira weissflogii), was carried out with several solvents (methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, acetone, and hexane), pure and mixtures, in order to optimize the extraction process. For the paper, the highest amount of lipid was obtained using a combination of methanol and acetone or methanol alone. The extract liquid fractions were treated with activated carbon to remove the green pigment. Attempts to in situ algae oil transesterification were accomplished using acid (H2 SO4 ) and base (NaOH and CaO) catalysts. The extend of extraction processes was assessed by infrared spectroscopy.