Growth and Analysis of Algal species as a Source of Bio-diesel

Abstract

Algae are heterogeneous group of organism which live in damp habitats on land. In the present study, selected algal species are being screened for their suitability for biodiesel production. Three species, Scenedemus sp., Spirogyra sp., and Spirulina sp. have positively been identified to the genus level and are being analyzed. pH range of 8.3 – 8.7 has been found to be necessary for the growth of Scenedemus sp, a medium with macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients has been developed for the growing of Scenedemus sp. .Also, the growing surface area need to be determined very carefully since it seems to be quite important in the growing of Scenedemus sp. Spirogyra was found to contain 2.18 ± 0.36 % fat, 20.83± 0.00% crude protein, 39.84 ± 0.84 % total carbohydrates, 6.30 ± 0.50 % fibre, 20.19 ± 0.62 % ash and 10.66 ± 0.41% moisture. The fat content was analyzed and found to contain octanoic acid, tetradecanoic acid, hexadec-9-enoic acid, octadecanoic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid. From the amount of oil content it can be concluded that the spirogyra can not be economic for bio-diesel production in its present form.

Key words: Algae, Scenedemus sp., Spirogyra sp., Spirulina sp and bio-diesel