Demand of alternative fuels is increasing day by day due to the present crisis of petroleum based fuels. Biodiesel is one of the most demanding alternative fuel, which is produced either by animal or plant based feedstock. Both types of feedstocks are facing problem of constant availability in sufficient quantity for prolonged time period. This problem could be solved, if a source having higher lipid content is found in sufficient quantity. One probable solution is to use microorganisms; especially oleaginous species, because of their higher lipid content and almost similar composition as plant/animal lipid. For this experiment, yeast was selected because of several reasons like easy availability, rapid growth rate, higher lipid accumulation capacity, capable to grow on a variety of media etc. In this experiment, yeast was adapted to accumulate maximum quantity of lipids by providing metabolic stress condition, which was later converted into biodiesel by acid transesterification. Elimination of lipid extraction step has made the process much faster and easier as compared to traditional methods. Presence of fatty acid methyl esters were confirmed by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and gas chromatography (GC). Fatty acids composition was determined by gas chromatography (GC) by comparing with standards.
renewable energy biomass energy economic production of biodiesel single step transesterification method prolonged feedstock
Primary Language | English |
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Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | March 1, 2013 |
Published in Issue | Year 2013 Volume: 3 Issue: 1 |