Microbial transformation of sewage sludge to biolipid-based fuel using potential oleaginous bacteria Streptomyces sp.

The maximum reactor performance was achieved with 40% lipid accumulation (gravimetric basis) in the dry cell biomass of <i>Streptomyces</i> sp. The results indicated the presence of C-H (Alkane), with additional phenolic and alcoholic bonds through FTIR, whereas the GC-MS results indicated the presence of palmitic acid and oleic acid as the most recurring compounds. This highlights the strong potential of <i>Streptomyces</i> sp. for biolipid based fuel production using sludge as a substrate. The contents of the extract (i.e., bio-lipids) were successfully transesterified to produce biofuels from the stored lipids. The findings indicated that the use of <i>Streptomyces</i> sp. potentially provides a dual benefit of reducing organic loading from the sludge along with biofuel production under optimized reactor conditions.