Production of Biodiesel from Spirogyra elongata, a Common Freshwater Green Algae with High Oil Content

Aasma Saeed, Muhammad Asif Hanif, Asma Hanif, Umer Rashid, Javed Iqbal, Muhammad Irfan Majeed, Bryan R. Moser and Ali Alsalme
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Aasma Saeed: Nano and Biomaterials Lab (NBL), Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Muhammad Asif Hanif: Nano and Biomaterials Lab (NBL), Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Asma Hanif: Department of Chemistry, Government College Women University Faisalabad (GCWUF), Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Umer Rashid: Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ION2), Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Javed Iqbal: Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Muhammad Irfan Majeed: Department of Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Bryan R. Moser: Bio-Oils Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Peoria, IL 61604, USA
Ali Alsalme: Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 1145, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-10

Abstract: The need for exploring nonfood low-cost sustainable sources for biodiesel production is ever increasing. Commercial and industrial algae cultivation has numerous uses in biodiesel production. This study explores S. elongata as a new algal feedstock for the production of biodiesel that does not compete with food production. The major fatty acids identified in S. elongata oil were oleic (30.5%), lauric (29.9%), myristic (17.0%), and palmitic (14.2%) acids. Transesterification to FAME was conducted using basic (KOH), acidic (HCl), and Zeolitic catalysts for assessment. The yields with acidic (54.6%) and zeolitic (72.7%) catalysts were unremarkable during initial screening. The highest biodiesel yield (99.9%) was achieved using KOH, which was obtained with the optimum reaction conditions of 1.0% catalyst, 60 °C, 4 h, and an oil-to-methanol volume ratio of 1:4. The resulting S. elongata oil methyl esters exhibited densities, CNs, and IVs, that were within the ranges specified in the American (ASTM D6751) and European (EN 14214) biodiesel standards, where applicable. In addition, the high SVs and the moderately high CPs and PPs were attributed to the presence of large quantities of short-chain and saturated FAME, respectively. Overall, the composition and properties of FAME prepared from S. elongaae oil indicate that S. elongata is suitable as an alternative algal feedstock for the production of biodiesel.

Keywords: Spirogyra elongate; biodiesel; GCMS; oil; cetane number; fatty acid methyl esters (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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