Evaluation of Five Nannocfhloropsis Sp. Strains for Biodiesel and Poly-Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) Production.

Continuously usage of petroleum sourced fuels is now widely recognized as unsustainable and environmental unfriendly because of its depleting supplies and the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to the worldwide greenhouse effect and global climate change. Methods to convert biomass tocompetitive biofuels increasingly attract researchers’ attention in recent pastdecades, and microalgae used as the most promising feedstock source for the third-generation biodiesel production interest biofuel researchers since they can produce and accumulate large amount of lipids and fix the greenhouse gas (CO₂) by photosynthesis at the same time. Hence, development and utilization of microalgae as feedstock candidates for biodiesel production appears to be a cost effective, renewable, carbon neutral and environmentally friendly way forward and offers great opportunities in the longer term. 

However, inadequate microalgae species and relatively absence of information on detailed FAs compositional profiles have limited the development of microalgae bio-resources. Determination and analysis of microalgae strains with high biomass concentration, high cellular lipid content, appropriate lipid distribution, suitable FAs compositional profiles and proper biodiesel properties under specific culture conditions are of great importance to promote microalgae biodiesel production. Thus isolation and evaluation of autochthonic appropriate microalgae species and exploitation of them in algal biotechnology for bio-resource usage is urgently needed.(Read More)