Evaluation of the potential for some isolated microalgae to produce biodiesel

The energy and the world food crises have ignited interest in algal culture for making biodiesel, bioethanol, biobutanol and other biofuels using the land that is not suitable for agriculture. Algal fuel is an alternative to fossil fuel that uses algae as its source of natural deposits. Microalgal lipids are the oils of the future for sustainable biodiesel production. One of the most important roles in obtaining oil from microalgae is the choice of species. A total of fifteen microalgal isolates, obtained from brackish and fresh waters, were assayed at the laboratory for their ability to high biomass productivity and lipid content. Only three microalgae were selected as the most potent isolates for biomass and lipid production. They have been identified as Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus quadri and Trachelomonas oblonga. All of them were cultivated on BG11 media and harvested by centrifugation. The dry weight of the three isolates was recorded as 1.23, 1.09 and 0.9 g/l while the lipid contents were 37%, 34% and 29%, respectively which can be considered a promising biomass production and lipid content.