Fatty Acids Composition and Biodiesel Characterization of Dunaliella salina

Eman M. Fakhry, Dahlia M. El Maghraby

Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.

DOI: 10.4236/jwarp.2013.59091                

Abstract

This study discusses the perspectives regarding the green alga Dunaliella salina Toed for biodiesel manufacturing purposes. The alga was cultivated under controlled lab conditions. Biomass concentration at early stationary grown microalga was 2.6 mg/L dry weight, while the algal oil was about 27.1% of the biomass. Algal oil was esterified and analyzed using GLC technique. Fourteen fatty acid methyl esters were identified. The amount of saturated and unsaturated fatty ester fractions was 35% and 65% respectively. The physicochemical properties of fatty acids comprising biodiesel were discussed. However, culture optimization coupled with genetic improvement will definitely represent contributions to bring about innovation in oil hyper-producing D. salina that will ultimately meet with success.

Keywords

Biodiesel Characterization; Biomass; Dunaliella salina; Fatty Acids

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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