Assessing the environmental impact and sustainability of third-generation biofuels from microalgae via HPLC and GC-MS techniques

Background:The issue of fossil fuel depletion has forced us on a quest for modern and eco-friendly alternatives.Microalgal biofuels have managed to move on top for such reasons as, for example, carbon neutrality and lipid production without causing any harm to crop, which has attracted extensive interest to them.Aim and Objective: This study is done to estimate the lipid production potential of a few microalgal strains at different environmental conditions that are suitable for biofuel applications.It also aims to find out which fatty acids are the significant ones to be used as biofuel and eventually to select the microalgal strain that is the best candidate for biofuel production. Materials and Methods:The lipid production of four types of microalgae (Chlorella sp., Scenedesmus sp., Chlorococcum sp., and Botryococcus sp.) was augmented by cultivation under several environmental conditions.Results: The highest lipid content of 25C was identified by Botryococcus sp., while Chlorella sp.reached 22.8% at 35C.GC-MS analysis showed that the highest fat content was in the Chlorococcum sp. and Botryococcus sp.species, with palmitic, linolenic, and stearic acids being the main fatty acids, which pointed out the fact that Botryococcus sp.should be the first one enchaining the biofuel production.Conclusion: Large-scale lipid production in micro-and algae could be tackled by optimization of environmental conditions.This could potentially lead to a more sustainable biofuel industry, the most promising seed of which is Botryococcus sp.