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Microalgal fatty acid composition: implications for biodiesel quality

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An Erratum to this article was published on 16 March 2012

Abstract

The fuel properties of microalgal biodiesel are predicted using published microalgal fatty acid (FA) compositions and predictive fuel models. Biodiesels produced from the microalgae investigated are predicted to have extremely poor oxidative stabilities and the majority also have poor cold-flow properties. The cetane number in most cases is out of specification, but less so than the oxidative stability and cold flow. These findings support the idea that feedstocks rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) are desirable for biodiesel but the composition of the saturated fatty acids (SFAs) is also shown to be of great importance. There is an apparent relationship between algal class and the percentage of FAs represented by MUFA. This potentially allows for the identification of high-MUFA algal classes, or at least provides some basis for researchers to make initial selections of target classes for bioprospecting. Comparisons of FA groups between algal classes also show that the SFAs of Mediophyceae contain significantly higher proportions of C14:0, which is in contrast to the normally abundant C16:0 and the Mediophyceae therefore have better cold-flow characteristics than other classes with similar total SFA contents. Certain particularly promising cases for biodiesel production are presented as species level examples of feedstocks that are close to satisfying the biodiesel standards and to further illustrate the challenges that remain. Variation in FA composition as a response to changes in certain environmental variables forms another important facet to feedstock selection and is briefly considered, with suggestions for further research.

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Notes

  1. Biodiesel is most commonly produced using methanol however other alcohols, e.g. ethanol and isopropanol may be used and this affects the properties of the biodiesel to an extent (see Knothe 2005).

  2. Certain properties of the fuel can also be affected by the production process, the details of which are beyond the scope of this review (see Knothe 2006).

  3. Consider two feedstocks with SFA contents of 50%. The first, with C16:0 making up the entire 50% would have a CP of 19°C. The second, with the 50% made up of 40% C16:0 and 10% C18:0 would have a CP of 16°C. This example illustrates the freezing/melting point depression that is caused by having a mixture of solutes, see Dunn (2008) for more detail.

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Acknowledgments

The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation, the University of the Witwatersrand and the South African National Energy Research Institute toward this research is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. School of Animal, Plant & Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3 WITS, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Graham Robert Stansell & Stuart David Sym

  2. School of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3 WITS, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Vincent Myles Gray

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  1. Graham Robert Stansell
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  2. Vincent Myles Gray
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Correspondence to Graham Robert Stansell.

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Stansell, G.R., Gray, V.M. & Sym, S.D. Microalgal fatty acid composition: implications for biodiesel quality. J Appl Phycol 24, 791–801 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-011-9696-x

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