Biodiesel Production from Microalgae Oil
Pınar Oguzhan Filiz Yangılar
Ardahan University, The Faculty of Engineering, Food Engineering Department,
Ardahan, TURKEY
 
In recent years, there are two kinds of important issues, environmental and energy crisis. The environmental issue is global warming. Another issue is the energy crisis, where increasing global petroleum crude oil prices have impacts on domestic energy situations as well as on local society life. Therefore, for solving the important issue, a renewable energy should be developed. Biodiesel (fatty acid methyl ester) is a nontoxic and biodegradable alternative fuel that is obtained from renewable sources. Biodiesel, an organic compound made from lipid oil and alcohol through a chemical reaction known as transesterification, is a type of biofuel that has been used commercially as transportation fuel. Some common sources of biodiesel are animal fats, vegetable oil (edible or non edible) , soybean oil, palm oil, sun flower oil and algal oil. The best algae for biodiesel would be microalgae. The algal oil is converted into biodiesel through a transesterification process. Oil extracted from the algae is mixed with alcohol and an acid or a base to produce the fatty acid methylesters that makes up the biodiesel. Microalgae with high oil productivities are desired for producing biodiesel. In this review, the main advantages of using microalgae for biodiesel production and biodiesel production from microlgae oil will be mentioned.