Biofuel production using Arctic psychrophilic microalga Chlamydomonas sp. KNM0029C

Abstract

In this study, 184 strains owned by KOPRI were used to find a candidate used as a feedstock for biofuels. The strain showing the highest lipid content was KNM0029C which was identified as genus Chlamydomonas. KNM0029C showed the highest cell concentration at 4 °C under 80 μmol photon m-2s-1 of light intensity in TAP medium. In order to efficiently produce biodiesel from biomass of KNM0029C, the production yield of FAME was compared between existing extraction methods and modified extraction methods. The modified A method yielded 0.16 g of FAME per g of biomass, which was 5.4 % lower than the conventional Lewis’s method, but it reduced the process of removing moisture. After the biodiesel process, bioethanol was produced using the remaining residues. Bioethanol production using yeast fermentation was compared through a combination of physical, chemical, and biochemical (enzymatic) pretreatment methods. The highest yield of bioethanol was obtained by pretreatment with enzymatic treatment after ultrasonication and showed 0.22 g of bioethanol production per g of residual biomass. It was 38 % higher than the bioethanol production, which showed the highest yield in previous reports, using residual microalgae after de-oiled process.