Evaluation of oleaginous eustigmatophycean microalgae as potential biorefinery feedstock for the production of palmitoleic acid and biodiesel

This study aimed to evaluate the potential of six oleaginous eustigmatophytes for use as biorefinery feedstock for the co-production of palmitoleic acid (PA) and biodiesel under different initial nitrogen concentrations (INCs). Six eustigmatophytes were studied, the nitrogen deficiency strategy significantly stimulated the simultaneous hyper-accumulation of PA and lipids, and led to a desirable fatty acid profile (FAP), except in Vacuoliviride sp. and Nannochloropsis oculata. Particularly, Eustigmatos cf. polyphem exhibited great potential when supplied with 1 mM INC and yielded the highest PA (29.71% of dry weight (DW)) and lipid (72.01% of DW) contents, as their productivities increased to 96.26 and 232.79 mg/L/d, respectively. Furthermore, neutral lipids accounted for 91.82% of the total lipids and were rich in PA, and the favourable FAPs of C16-C18 (87.95%) and monounsaturated FAs (70.10%) ensured good biodiesel properties including the cetane number (55.69) and iodine value (92.81 gI2/100 g), and all met the standard requirements.